Aliens versus DragonBall: Lento
by akilatem
Summary: Two of the universe's strongest worriors, Goku and Gohan, are dead at the hands of the Xenomorph. Now, an unknown government entity is involved. As the surviving Z Fighters attempt to regroup, the Aliens have begin their full out invasion of Earth.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: Dragonball Z, character names and their distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Toei Animation Co. Ltd. Aliens and the aliens' distinctive likenesses and the name "xenomorph" thereof are trademarks of 20th Century Fox.  
  
  
  
Fan Fiction.net Presents  
  
An akilatem Records Production  
  
Based on the characters created by Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusset, Roger Shackelford, and Akira Toriyama  
  
Chris Sabat  
  
Tiffany Vollmer  
  
In a story by Roger Shackelford  
  
ALIENS versus DRAGONBALL: LENTO  
  
Lauara Bailey  
  
Damien Clarke  
  
Sonny Strait  
  
Cynthia Cranz  
  
John Burgmeier  
  
Kara Edwards  
  
and Meredith McCoy  
  
Original Alien Design by H.R. Giger  
  
Orchestral Score by James Horner and Nobuo Uematsu  
  
Cover Art By Shaun Kelly  
  
With Special thanks to Michael Brown, Shaun Kelly, and Emily Rothenberger  
  
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The ship was coasting silently through space. From looking at it from the outside, it seemed as if it was dead. No engines running, no lights on, no signs of life. It was just slipping across the empty plains to its final destination, earth, which was merely a few thousand miles ahead.  
  
* * *  
  
"Trunks, would you get down here. You're father and Goku are going to be here soon."  
  
Bulma was franticly going around, cleaning up the house. She was expecting company. Not only from the returning heroes, but from Goku's family. They had scheduled a getting together party for their return, but Bulma had waited until the last second to straighten up. The landing strip for their ship was just outside her mansion. Her father was the owner of the multi- conglomerate organization, Capsule-Corp. He was also a brilliant scientist. He created, with help from his genius daughter, the deep space ship that was bringing the adventurers back from their training mission. He could think of no better place to have a landing strip for his creation than in his large back yard.  
  
"What do ya want mom?" Trunks asked as he stood on the stairs, halfway down.  
  
"Didn't I ask you to clean up the bathroom down here?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll do it ina minute, I'm doin' somethin' right now."  
  
"Ah no," Bulma's motherly instincts kicked in. "You're gonna get done what I tell you now! HEY! Don't go back up those steps!"  
  
"I have to get done what I was doin'!"  
  
"And what was that? Playing those damn videogames again? If you don't get this done now, I'm gonna smash them over your head!!!"  
  
"Fine," Trunks knew he was busted. "But leave me alone when I'm done."  
  
"Ah no! I ain't leaving you alone until this house is clean!"  
  
"But mom!"  
  
"Go ahead! Say another word! I'll tell your father what kind of shit you're pulling."  
  
Fatal words to any child from their mother. Trunks quickly shut up and went to work.  
  
The mansion rested on the outskirts of the island city of Caldoria, Bulma's life long home, in the islands off of Japan. It was a large, secluded piece of land with only one way on and off, a large suspension bridge that connected to the mainland only a mile off shore. Bulma never used to like it at home. She always used to be off on some sort of adventure far and away, but those days were far behind her now.  
  
She went into the living room to tidy up some loose ends.  
  
Vegeta had been gone for some time now. She missed him every second he was gone. They had been together for over a decade now and had a child together, but they still weren't married. The subject had never come up, and she began to believe that he seriously didn't understand the concept of marriage. After all, he was alien to this planet. Maybe marriage didn't exist where he was from. She some what didn't mind not being wed. She knew there was a bond between them that was good enough as marriage, but there was a part of her that hoped they could make it official. Also, her parents hated the fact that they had a child outside of wedlock. They believed in Christian values, and saw this as being bad. They had tried to pressure her to marry him, but she pretended to think it wasn't that important to her.  
  
She looked at her watch on the palm side of her wrist. 2:30. She began to cuss in her head. Her company was going to be here in 15 minutes. She knew it was her fault for waiting to clean up. She hadn't even touched the kitchen yet. She began to wonder why they didn't have a butler. With a big house like this they should.  
  
She could hear Vegeta's ship land outside. She began to cuss at herself even more. She decided that the living room was fine and ran into the kitchen to throw some things away at the last minute before Vegeta came in.  
  
"MOOOOOOM!!! WAS THAT DAD!?!?," Trunks yelled from the bathroom.  
  
"YEAH! BUT JUST KEEP CLEANING!" She wanted to get as much done as she could. She heard the engines shut off and then dead silence. She was rushing around, putting things away in cabinets, washing spots off of the counters, basically covering every problem as it came at her.  
  
She heard a light scratching on the door to her right that led to the basement. She looked over at the door and stopped what she was doing for a second. "Now what could this be", she thought to herself. She started to walk towards the door. All of the sudden, the door exploded into splinters from the inside. Wood chunks flew all over Bulma as she fell to the floor. She didn't wait to see what had done it, she wanted to get out of there. She tried to scramble to her feet just as Vegeta burst through the back door just feet in front of her. He immediately saw Bulma trying to scramble away. Before he could react, the black object pounced on Bulma. It pulled her nearly to her feet by her hair. Her neck was blatantly exposed. The black object opened a mouth full of pearly white, razor sharp teeth just millimeters from her neck. Next thing Vegeta saw was those same teeth enter Bulma's neck as her blood spilled to the floor.  
  
Vegeta snapped up, ice cold, soaking wet, and his spine and the back of his head shaking. He turned over and fell off the bed. He propped himself up with both hands and vomited. Then, he fell to his side. His eyes were closed and he was breathing very heavily. They were getting worse and worse. The dreams were persistent; he had been having them every night for the past month, and they were taking a severe toll on him. Vegeta had become a nervous wreck from sleep deprivation. He couldn't get anymore than 3 hours a night. He put his hand to his forehead and slid his hand onto his hair. Keeping his eyes closed made things even worse. The image of Bulma drenched in her own blood kept playing through his head, and it was almost literally killing him. He snapped his eyes wide open and was met with the image of the under side of his bed and the other side of the room, with dark black and blue illumination. He pushed himself off the floor slightly as a line of saliva trailed from his mouth to the ground. As he sat up, it snapped and hung on to his chin. He wiped it was with his wrist and sat there for a second.  
  
The dreams were almost always the same. They barely involved him anymore; it was always Bulma or his son, Trunks, being brutally and graphically slain by dark images. The images were never totally decipherable. He couldn't remember distinctly the figures they were supposed to represent, but when he closed his eyes, he could see flash images of a black being with no eyes and teeth; the most evil looking creature imaginable. Every time he saw it, it cut him to the bone.  
  
Every minute, he held it in him; the frustration, anger, and madness building up inside him. He wanted to destroy everything in sight, but had to restrain himself. He knew if he went berserk, he may rupture the hull and commit suicide. Maybe he would find some relief when he arrived home later that day. He knew exactly what was going to happen when he got back, he just hoped s-h-e would not trigger his rage. He hoped he could hold it in until he could release it somewhere that wasn't in front of Bulma or Trunks. She was going to go ballistic, and Vegeta had been preparing for it the whole ride, but he wasn't sure if it was enough.  
  
He got up to his feet and staggered his way into the bathroom. He was still suffering from the wounds he acquired on Purge. Of all of them, his leg bothered him the most. He somewhat disliked having to at times float from room to room to keep off of it. He started to think it may have fractured. If it was just a flesh wound, it shouldn't have been hurting him this much this long after. Then again, he began thinking none of his wounds were healing correctly. His shoulder and chest were still sore and still needed bandages as they periodically still bled. He blamed it on not having sufficient medical equipment onboard. When he ran out of conventional bandages a few weeks prior, he had to resort to different types off linen and washed them in between uses.  
  
When he got into the bathroom, he was only thinking of one thing, getting the taste out of his mouth. He flipped the switch to turn the lights on. He squinted a bit because of the pain of having bright lights in his face after being in the dark all night. He took his time and slowly let his eyes adjust. He turned the faucet to cold water, cupped his hands and let them fill. He sipped from them, swished the water in his mouth, and spit it out. He went to grab a tooth brush when he came across the image of himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His hair was messed up, he needed a shave, his eyes were near black and bloodshot from sleep deprivation, the list went on. He had barely been keeping himself active. He used the broken gravatron room to do various exercises, but he hadn't been keeping to his usual schedule because of his injuries. He spent most of his time doing something he had never done before, nothing. He frequently found himself trying to be entertained by TV and videogames, but they never hooked. He spent most of his time thinking, mostly about Bulma. He had a lot of time to think about where they were in their relationship, and about marriage. He understood more about the concept than Bulma thought, but he didn't think much about it until recently. He knew, that even though she pretended to feel about it the same way she did, it was important to her. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. This was what was happening to Vegeta. His time alone and let him think about her in a different perspective.  
  
* * *  
  
He gargled the mouth wash. The liquid was stinging his tongue and gums. He spit it out into the sink, grabbed a towel, and wiped his lips clean with it. He limped back into the bedroom and looked out the window. Earth was getting larger and larger in the window. "Oh yeah, that's right," he thought to himself. To day was the day he had both looked forward to and dreaded, the day he returned to Earth.  
  
* * *  
  
Bulma did a double take as she looked at the monitor in the hanger. She ran into the next room as fast as she could, picked up the phone and started dialing.  
  
"Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up." she was mumbling under her breath as she waited for an answer, twirling the cord around her finger as she paced back and forth. "Hello, Goten? Get your mother please.No you're not in trouble.ok.Hey Chi-Chi!...You gotta get your ass over here now!...Yeah! I'm picking them up on the radar.I don't know, maybe Vegeta got upset or something.Look, they're gonna be here in 3 hours.I'm looking at the damn thing right now!," she said as she peered into the other room and looked at the green lit radar screen. "Yeah, so be here at like 1.Naw you don't have to bring anything, just be here.Ok, see ya ina few." *Click*.  
  
Bulma ran out of the hanger and into the house which was a few yards away.  
  
"Trunks! Clean up the bathroom! Chi-Chi an' them are coming over!"  
  
She then began straightening up her self.  
  
* * *  
  
"So why do you think they're back a month early?" Chi-Chi asked.  
  
"Be damned if I know. Vegeta was probably like 'Ugh, I don't like this planet, blah, blah, blah, let's go back.'" The girls giggled to each there at Bulma's impression of Vegeta. The two friends were anxiously awaiting the return of their males while sitting at Bulma's kitchen table, sipping hot tea, and watching their children play outside through the window. As usual, Trunks and Goten wrestled around with each other, while Gohan organized them and watched them with an almost father like quality. He was always there when they played. He watched them with a sense of enjoyment, and also to make sure things didn't get out of hand.  
  
Chi-Chi was just staring at them with both of her elbows on the table, holding the cup of steaming hot tea just inches from her mouth. "They get along together so well," she said. Just as she finished, Goten lurched over and fell yelling ,"Agh! YOU DICKHEAD!! No nut shots!"  
  
Bulma forced down the tea in her mouth with one of those gulps that leave a pain in your sternum. "Where did he learn that?"  
  
"Aw jeez, the other day I caught him going through Goku's tapes."  
  
Bulma's eyes went wide ,"Goku has pornos!?!?"  
  
"No, no, no. Goodness no! His comedy tapes!"  
  
"You mean like 'R' rated stuff?"  
  
"Oh yeah, anything that makes him laugh. He loves anything remotely funny no matter what it is, but he never lets even Gohan see the real low brow stuff he has, and I don't blame him. Some of the stuff he has is bbaaaaaaaaddd."  
  
"So, what did Goten get into?"  
  
"Remember that show that was on when we were real little called 'Jackass'?"  
  
Bulma nodded her head as she took a sip.  
  
"Well, this movie had a few of the guys that were in it. It's pretty sick. Goku tried to get me to watch it one time and I had to leave it was so horrible."  
  
"What was it called?"  
  
"CKY.or something like that."  
  
"Never heard of it. Are you sure you're not thinkin' of Jackass tha movie?"  
  
"Naw. In fact, I think this came out before it. It wasn't a real movie. It wasn't in the movies or anything, it was like this guy just ran around with a home camera while everyone acted like assholes. It had a lot of cool skate boarding in it though."  
  
"Cool. You're gonna have ta lemme barrow it."  
  
"That's up to Goku. It's his tape. And if he does, don't let Trunks see it."  
  
"I'll be the judge of that. I'm not anal like you about what my children watch."  
  
"Oh shut up!"  
  
"No, seriously, it was kind of ridiculous when a few years ago we couldn't even rent a PG-13 movie when he slept over because you have such a tight choke chain on him!"  
  
"He's my child, I'll decide how to raise him."  
  
"Amen," she said as she raised her cup in the air and took a sip. "So I'll decide if my son gets to watch it or not."  
  
Chi-Chi bit her under lip and looked away for she knew that she had been beat. She looked back at Bulma and shook her head with a smile. Bulma smiled back. She loved being right.  
  
There was a brief pause. For a moment, the two friends listened to the kids yell at each other outside. Gohan tried to keep the peace.  
  
Chi-Chi was the first to break the silence.  
  
"So what kind of movies does Vegeta like?"  
  
"He doesn't watch movies too much.Though he does like mob movies."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. He really like Goodfellas and The Godfather Part 2. It's weird, sort of. Mafia movies are the only kinds of movies he enjoys."  
  
"Ya think there's any particular reason?"  
  
"I know he hates those summer movies that try to be all epic and everything and make a few hundred million dollars. He considers them the scum of the earth. That may be a reason he likes those kind of movies, coz they're the exact opposite," Chi-Chi nodded, fully attentive as she sipped her tea. "But I think there's a different reason to tell ya the truth."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Bulma opened her mouth to answer when a soft buzzer sounded behind her.  
  
"That means they are going to be landing in a few minutes. Maybe some other time." Bulma got up and grabbed the tea cups and saucers. "Want me to get the kids?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Naw, I'll get 'em."  
  
* * *  
  
"IF YOU SO MUCH AS EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING THE GROUND, I WILL KILL YOU!!!!" Trunks had asked his mother if he could fly up to the ship and say hi. She hated it when her son acted like that just to arouse a reaction. All of them were outside now, standing at the hanger at the end of the runway. They could see the ship re-entering the atmosphere high in the twilight sky. It resembled a shooting star as it slowly made it's decent. Gohan came out of the hanger with a few plastic chairs for everybody. Everyone thanked him and took a seat. He didn't get a seat for himself, so he leaned against the wall.  
  
The bright ball of light disappeared.  
  
"Mom, where did dad's ship go?" Goten asked.  
  
Bulma answered the question for Chi-Chi. "You're dad's ship just got out of the stratosphere and is in the troposphere now. We should be able to see him again in a few minutes."  
  
"Oh, ok.". Goten turned around to Trunks with a confused look on his face. Trunks just shrugged his shoulders.  
  
For the most part, everyone stayed quiet. They had nothing to talk about. All the kids were anxious to see their fathers again, but kept their excitement inside them.  
  
Just as Bulma said, a black spot appeared in the sky. It slowly grew bigger and bigger. Soon, they were able to make it out as the ship. It began to decend rapidly to meet the runway. They could see the nose tip up slightly. The ship was now fully decipherable. It made it's final decent on the runway. The back wheels touched down first and screeched loudly as they hit the pavement. The front tip slowly came down. Watching a ship enter the atmosphere and end up right there was always fascinating to all of them, especially the younger ones who were seeing it for the first time. The ship slowed down as it came towards them, eventually stopping directly in front of them. The heard the ship's engines die down and soon, silence. Everyone arose from their seat. The airlock hissed and rolled opened. In the doorway was Vegeta.  
  
Bulma ran up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the cheek. Imediately, she felt something was wrong. He didn't even react to her. No returning hug, no smile, not even an eye twitch. She looked into his eyes. They weren't looking back; they were looking at someone else very solemnly. Trunks ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He began talking to his father, but he wasn't listening. Neither was Bulma. She was now getting worried. She looked over to see if she could tell who he was staring at. She started to catch on when she realized it was Chi- Chi. She got a cool chill as she turned back to look inside the ship and saw that on one was in there. She looked back into Vegeta's eyes.  
  
Chi-Chi stood where she had been, trying to peer into the ship. She looked over at at Vegeta and realized he was looking at her.  
  
"Where's Goku?"  
  
"He didn't make it."  
  
Chi-Chi lost her breath ,"w, w, wha."  
  
"He didn't survive."  
  
Her eyes went glassy as she brought he hands up to her mouth ,"no."  
  
Gohan and Goten couldn't believe what they just heard. Their father, dead? Wasn't this just supposed to be a training mission to an uninhabited planet?  
  
Bulma looked at Chi-Chi breaking down before her eyes and then at Vegeta. He had that same stoic look on his face. He couldn't have done it.could he?  
  
Gohan stepped up ,"Wha, what happened?"  
  
Vegeta never had a chance to answer. "You BBAASSSTAARRDD!!!!," Chi-Chi screamed as she rushed Vegeta. Bulma ducked out of the way, as did Trunks, as Chi-Chi punched Vegeta square in the jaw. Vegeta's head moved in the direction she hit him. He didn't retaliate. She hit him a few more times in the chest before Gohan came from behind and pulled her away. She continued to kick and scream, tears flying from her face like waterfalls as she thrashed about.  
  
"YOU MURDERING SON OF A BITCH!!! I'LL KILL YOU!! YOU KILLED HIM, YOU KILLED HIM!!!!"  
  
"Mom! Get a grip! Stop it! STOP IT! Let him explain." She calmed down a bit, still, however, gritting her teeth, her face red with the fires of hell breaking loose in her.  
  
"I probably should talk to your mother privately about what happened." 


	2. Insomnia

Chapter 2 - Insomnia  
  
Bulma was lying on her bed, in her undergarments, trying to escape the late night spring heat. The air conditioner broke down just a few hours ago for no apparent reason. Just her luck. It was too late in the day to fix it when it happened, but at this point she was about to go out there right now. She was trying to get relaxed someway, lying, spread out on the bed without sheets or blankets on. Nothing seemed to work though. She could almost feel steam rising from her body.  
  
Next to the heat, however, something else was severely plaguing her, Goku's death. She still didn't know what happened, but she hadn't had a chance to talk to him ever since he got back. He only talked to Chi-Chi privately about it, but that didn't last long. She stormed out of the house after about 15 minutes, yelling, cussing, and crying the whole way out. What ever he said didn't convince her, but then again nothing probably would. She knew Vegeta was always trying to best Goku; and when they go out, just the two of them, and only one returns, everyone can only assume they had a deathmatch. Bulma knew there was something more to it than that. If Vegeta had killed Goku, he'd be proud of it; he wouldn't try to tell a story. Something was up here. When he finally did come up stairs to the bedroom after Chi-Chi left, Bulma did try to ask him what happened, but he simply said ,"Not now, I need a shower."  
  
She had put in a CD that she bought when she was a child. It was a slow listening orchestral album that at times helped to put her to sleep. She remembered why she bought it. Long before she had even dated Yamcha, she had the hots for another guy, Adrian. He was an American boy that worked in a record store on the coast. She remembered meeting him pretty clearly. She walked in, actually following an old friend of hers. When she first saw him, he was writing something. She took notice of the situation and made a move, commenting on his writing. It worked. She hooked him like a fish. The relationship only lasted as long as her trip to that town though, but they exchanged e-mail addresses and became good pen pals there after.  
  
The bathroom door opened with steam literally pouring out of the room. She wondered how he could take a shower like that in this heat. He appeared in the door way and it hit her like a ton of bricks.  
  
"Oh my gosh Vegeta!" Up and down his body was long stretching scabs and scars. It made Bulma cringe to see them. The worst ones were poorly sown together, black and blue, and still swollen. If these injuries had been inflicted to a human, he'd be dead. What kind of hell had he been through to get those? "What happened to you?"  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"Vegeta, please tell me what happened to you!"  
  
"The last thing I need right now is you to roll your eyes at me."  
  
"Vegeta."  
  
"Please let it be for now.change the subject."  
  
"Did you at least try to disinfect 'em properly?"  
  
"Soap, water, salt, and aerosol."  
  
Bulma got concerned,"Vegeta! You should be dead from infection! The only thing that probably kept you alive was being in that sterile ship for a month. Come into the bathroom."  
  
"Not right now." he said, almost grunting it out.  
  
"Vegeta, you're back on earth. If we don't do something about those now, you're gonna puff up like fat Buu! It's either you let me help you here, or we go to a hospital."  
  
Vegeta mumbled to himself and got up. The both went into the bathroom. Bulma throw on all of the lights and made him sit on the toilet.  
  
"Bend over so I can see your back."  
  
He shook his head and buried it into his right hand which was propped up on his knee. "Can't you just throw me in the rejuvenator," referring to machine that Freeza's henchmen built that helps you heal at miraculous speeds from almost any wound.  
  
"You'll be in there for a week if you don't let me do this." She went to the mirror cabinet and took out a bottle of saline solution and a tooth brush. She gave him the tooth brush. "You may need ta bite on this."  
  
He took the tooth brush from her hand. "I took the salt well."  
  
"Then maybe this will be a walk in the park. You might want to turn around"  
  
Vegeta faced the wall and wrapped his arms around the top part of the toilet. Bulma grabbed a small leather pouch from another cabinet, opened it up, and took out a scalpel. She looked over at the bad ones on Vegeta's back. Then she thought of something. "Wait a minute.Goku sewed these up, didn't he?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, he did a bad job.Did he do it before."  
  
"Yes! He did do it before he died! When else could he?!"  
  
"Ok, ok, sorry. Momentary lapse of reason."  
  
She got ready. "Ok, bare with me here." That was her warning. Vegeta knew what she was doing now. He bit down on the tooth brush handle. She dug the scalpel slightly into the top of the cut and went downward, cutting the thread. Vegeta felt a pain in the cut that nabbed him right at the mid- section of his spine. He cringed slightly, but otherwise showed no emotion. Bulma expected this out of him. She knew he wouldn't fuss when she started, but she also knew he was going through some real pain. She tried to work as fast as she could, but that wasn't that fast. When she was done, she took the treads out of the cut. Vegeta hissed a bit. The threads coming out of his skin weren't pleasant either. When she was done, she separated the two sides of the cut slightly. It was badly infected. Chances were the others were too. Vegeta wasn't going to like this.  
  
"Vegeta, um.I'm gonna have to cut this infected tissue out."  
  
"Just get it over with."  
  
She grabbed the bottle of saline and shot the liquid into the laceration. This hurt Vegeta the most. Bulma grabbed a towel and drained the saline out. She then began to cut out the infected tissue. Blood dripped down Vegeta's back and lightly dripped on the floor. The infected tissue smelled slightly and was coated with a slime, most likely from bacteria. This didn't bother Bulma. She was going through the procedure like she had done it a million times before, not getting nauseated or even wincing. She knew Vegeta was in a lot of pain. He always refused drugs. He hated them. Bulma tried to devise a different form of pain killer.  
  
"Feel like telling me what happened?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I just don't."  
  
"What could have happened that was that bad?" She made that up. She could tell by the looks of Vegeta that hell was an understatement. "Goku's died before. How is this time different?"  
  
"Because he didn't die a hero."  
  
Bulma got what that meant, and it scared her a bit. No body ever killed Goku. He always died in some sort of heroic suicide. Did something really get him this time? Did Vegeta kill him? She had to ask.  
  
"Did you get who did him in?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Who was it?"  
  
"If you're going to try to divert my attention, please change the subject."  
  
"Ok, ok, ok," she finished with the cut she was on and moved on. She would have to do the same thing 2 more times. "What do you wanna talk about?"  
  
"I don't know. You are the one who is good at this."  
  
"Alright.Do you want anything to eat before I shove you in there?"  
  
"Anything other than ramen. That's all I had to eat the whole way back."  
  
"Well, what about steak?"  
  
"That will suffice."  
  
"Why do you always use big words?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, seriously. You even have a slight British accent. What is the deal?"  
  
"Are you asking me why I use proper English?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Because I don't want to sound like an uneducated moron."  
  
"So what? You think I'm uneducated?"  
  
He looked back at her. She looked down at him, stopping momentarily. He turned back around and started talking. She went back to work. "It was the way I was raised to speak English. I learned from the country it originated from, and I only learned the proper way to speak it. They didn't teach me slang or different vernacular."  
  
"How many different languages do you speak?"  
  
"Four. English, Sayain, Japanese, and another language you wouldn't be familiar with."  
  
"See. You are obviously smart."  
  
"I never said I wasn't."  
  
There was a brief pause as Bulma was working, trying to find something else to say. She thought of something. "So who was 'they'."  
  
"What?"  
  
"When you were talking about how you learned English, you said something about 'they'. Who's 'they'?"  
  
"Some of the educators in Freeza's army when I was young."  
  
"Why did they teach you English and Japanese?"  
  
"You know, there are other humans in the universe. You aren't the only ones. For some reason, their major language is English."  
  
Bulma thought for a second about the Chaos and Atlantian theories. She quickly shook it to refocus on what she was doing. "Why Japanese then?"  
  
"I picked that up when I came here."  
  
She knew he was smart, unless he got lessons secretly behind her back. She grabbed another towel and wiped the red off her hands so she could get a better grip of the blade. She went down to the floor and wiped away the large puddle of blood she was standing in. She then picked her foot up and wiped it off the bottom of her foot.  
  
* * *  
  
Bulma put the last stitch in. "Ok, I'm done."  
  
Vegeta slowly got up and went into the other. He sat on the corner of the bed. He had one hand in a light fist with his other hand around it, his elbows resting on his knees. If he was going to do it, he'd better do it now and get it over with.  
  
Bulma came into the room after she was done washing her blood soaked hands. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Bulma.". Bulma was shocked almost to the point of fainting. She almost never called her by her name. Something serious was coming.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"There's something I need to ask you." 


	3. A Life Less Ordinary

Chapter 3 - A Life Less Ordinary  
  
"Come on Oolong, we're gonna be late for the wedding!"  
  
Master Roshi was looking in the mirror, fixing his tie. Oolong was behind him, hopping on one foot, trying to get his dress slacks on.  
  
"I can't believe Vegeta and Bulma are getting married. I bechya they wind- up killing each other," Oolong uttered as he attempted to button his slacks.  
  
"I didn't think it would happen myself. But you know those two, the weirdest people on earth."  
  
"But I thought the saying was 'Opposites attract'?"  
  
"Yeah? He has a penis and she has a vagina."  
  
"So you're saying it's all for sex?"  
  
"Now that I think about it, maybe not. They were getting enough of that before."  
  
The two finished getting dressed, went outside, and waited for Gohan to pick them up. They were waiting near the beach in front of Master Roshi's residence dubbed The Kame House, on their excruciatingly small island out in the middle of nowhere.  
  
"This just isn't right." Master Roshi announced out of the clear blue sky.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Goku should be here. Why couldn't those two airheads wait until the dragon balls were revised so that we could resurrect him?"  
  
"Well, Bulma always wanted a June wedding, and she probably wanted to do it before Vegeta changed his mind."  
  
"I heard that he asked her.Oh well, you're probably right."  
  
"Why did you guys use the dragon balls in the first place?"  
  
"When Vegeta was still away, Yamcha thought he was Superman or something. He went around catching people falling out of buildings, stopping bank robbers and all. As luck would have it, one day a plane was about to crash, so Yamcha thought he could save it. He saved it alright, but the plane kinda landed on him. Poor boy was in a coma for days. The doctor didn't think he would make it, so they wished him back to good health."  
  
"Why didn't Dende fix him up?"  
  
"Poor boy went brain dead. Dende can only fix the body, not the mind."  
  
"Well, what did you use for the other wish?"  
  
"You know how impatient Shenlong is. When he started throwing a fit, Krillin panicked and wished that they would stop showing that gay Birds of Prey show."  
  
"Why the hell did they bring that show back anyway?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
They both saw Gohan approaching in the distance.  
  
"Ok, lets get this over with," Master Roshi said.  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe my little girl is getting married," said Mrs. Briefs as she was fixing the wrinkles out of Bulma's dress. Bulma couldn't think of a word to say. She was so happy she had been blushing all day with a closed smile from ear to ear. Her mind was flying with images of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. She was lost in wonder.about Vegeta. Her true love. Powerful words that she herself had trouble saying. That phrase "true love" was just so defining for her. She had no problem knowing Vegeta was her true love, but she felt weird thinking about it. It felt too much like a Disney movie. The feeling, the emotion, the happiness, all feeling that she always thought only existed in fairy tales.  
  
She thought again how it's always the one that you least expect. She remembered how her and Vegeta started off completely on the wrong foot. Constantly cussing each other off, always getting into fights, always getting pissed off, always at each other's throats. Who would have thought they would be here. She sure didn't.  
  
"Is something wrong Bulma?" Her mother's New York City accent jerked her back into reality.  
  
"Just nervous that's all."  
  
"Well that's perfectly understandable. This is a turning point in your life and."  
  
*KNOCK*KNOCK*  
  
"Mrs. Briefs, you are wanted in the reception hall. A Mr. Roshi is harassing the bride's maids."  
  
"Sorry honey, I'll be back in a minute." With that, Mrs. Briefs left the dressing room and closed the door behind her. Before the door clicked shut, a hand appeared, grabbed the door and gently pulled it open. Vegeta! What was he doing? Bulma told him this was wrong. Bulma quickly turned around so he couldn't see her face. The she saw a mirror in front of her. She closed her eyes and faced the ground.  
  
"Bulma, there is something I neglected to tell you."  
  
"I know I told you that you can't see me until you lift the veil."  
  
"I know, I can't see you, but I have to tell you this."  
  
Bulma cracked open her eye and looked at the mirror. Vegeta was doing the same thing as her. She picked her head up and stared at the image of Vegeta keeping his eyes closed and facing the ground. She couldn't believe he had this much respect for her. He really did love her. What he had to say must have been very important. She turned to face him.  
  
"I was doing a lot of thinking last night. In fact I didn't sleep at all. But, I need to tell you of one of my marriage traditions."  
  
Bulma all the sudden remembered that Vegeta was an alien on this planet. It was hard to remember though because of how she felt about him. To her, he wasn't human, he wasn't a Sayian, he was the one.  
  
"Alright," It was kind of weird for her to look at him and him not too look back, but she understood.  
  
Vegeta took a small jewel case out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Bulma. "These are similar to wedding rings," he started as Bulma opened the case up. Inside were two brilliant looking ear rings. "These were given to my mother when she married my father, and my grandmother from my grandfather. These have been in the Sayain Royal family for more than a millennium. Even though my planet is gone, I won't let its traditions die."  
  
"I understand." Vegeta closed her hands around the ear rings, tipped her head down slightly, and kissed her on the forehead. He walked past her and inconspicuously left the room through the window. She looked at the window, holding the rings close to her breast. She didn't know what to think about that. She understood exactly what happened, but she was just so startled that he would even care about traditions and care for her as much to do what he just did. She shook her head and looked down at them. They were gold with some sort of diamond markings. Both were about the size of a silver dollar. She didn't know what the markings meant. For all she knew, they meant "Fords are rust buckets". Maybe she would find out someday.  
  
As she began to take her old rings out and put the new ones in, her mother reentered the room.  
  
"That Mr. Roshi. Do you know what he tried to do?"  
  
"Naw, what?"  
  
"He was telling Videl that he had a thing for belly buttons and tried to get her to lift her skirt!"  
  
Bulma pretended not to her. She was a little embarrassed to her that he was still using that old line. He used it on her once many years ago, except it worked!  
  
There was a knock on the door.  
  
"Mrs. Briefs, the ceremony will begin in 10 minutes." A cold wind passed the back of Bulma's neck as her skin drew tight with goose bumps. This was it.  
  
* * *  
  
What a silly religion, Vegeta thought to himself. The belief in an all powerful, invisible man who uses written words and scary stories of obedience, sacrifice, and punishment from thousands of years ago to make people behave was all.ludicrous. Vegeta saw no point in Christianity. The whole thing was just intangible to him. The belief in things that you couldn't see or feel or have any proof of existence in seemed foolish to him. There were similar religions like it in the universe. Actually, they were all almost the same, just that the names of that one center figure, or "god", was always different. And apparently on this planet, there were 3 different monotheistic religions. The thing that made the absolute least amount of sense to him was that more people on this planet were killed in the name of this "god" than any other cause of death put together ever in it's history when this all powerful sentient being is supposed to stand for peace and good will towards your fellow man. It made him embarrassed that he was being wed in a church that stood for hypocrisy.  
  
He never discussed this with Bulma. He felt that she knew the facts and made her own decision. In fact, it was because of her that he knew so much about Christianity, and he made his own decision based upon what she told him. Vegeta never fallowed a specific religion, but he did have his own beliefs, and one of those beliefs was to respect another's beliefs and not tell them that he is right and they are wrong. This was the only time he would not say he was right over someone. What someone believed was spiritually correct was their own business, and Vegeta would not try to change their opinion. Though he did admit, their holy book's view of death, from what he saw the 2 time he was there, was surprisingly accurate; they just got the names wrong. Heaven, hell, and person who says "You go up, you go down", it's all there. He didn't know what was beyond their "St. Peter" though, he never got that far. He was always brought back before he could go any further. They could be right, but he didn't care. By any accounts, his beliefs, their beliefs, he was going to hell anyway. He led a morally and emotionally bad life up until he met her. It didn't matter that he had changed, what he had done before her was enough to eternally damn him. At this point, he was just trying to make the best out of what time he had left.  
  
Vegeta, also, did not particularly care for his tuxedo either. He felt stiff in it.  
  
Looking around the chapel as he stood by the alter, he realized that really there were only two people there for him, his son and her. He wasn't that much of a socializer, even before he came to this planet. He didn't care though. He enjoyed his relative solitude, really the first he had ever had. But this was the first time it hit him, he only had his son and her. Next to them, there was Goku, but he was gone, for now. The only other people he really interacted with were the other Z fighters. He didn't really know them to well: Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Gohan.he knew their faces and that was it. Every once in a while, they got together for poker and beer in Bulma's rec room at the mansion. Those were the most social he attended up until now. He didn't mind that. It added a little variety to his life, and got him a little extra spending money.  
  
Then the cued "Here Comes The bride." Vegeta was through the rehearsals a million times before. Bulma made sure he knew exactly what he was doing by ramming it into his head like a jackhammer. He even went through the practice sessions flawlessly. But now, as he saw her down the isle in that huge white dress, her face barely visible, knowing that these next few moments meant the rest of his life, he felt some what gitty inside.he forgot what to do.  
  
He started to cuss himself in his mind. How could he forget after he went through it 50 MILLION FUCKING TIMES!!!! When Bulma came up beside him, he choked. He looked into her veil and saw the faint silhouette of Bulma smiling back at him, which only made things worse. Then her eyes grew wide as she realized that he forgot. She began to nod her head downward. Still clueless, Vegeta did it again. She repeated the gesture. Vegeta looked down, and grabbed at his pant zipper, checking if it was down. Bulma finally rolled her eyes and wrapped her right arm around his left and faced the priest as if nothing had happened. Vegeta hoped no one had noticed what he had just done.  
  
"Are we ready to begin?", the priest asked. Bulma and Vegeta both nodded. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered."  
  
* * * As the wedding progressed, a shadowy figure appeared at The Kame House, carrying two clear glass cases. Each had an organic looking orb in it. The figure went around the back of the house and walked over to the flower bushes. It placed the cases within the bushed. It slid its hand down to the bottom of the case, flipped open a plastic cover and pressed a red button concealed inside. Gas hissed out of the bottom of the case. It lifted the case off, leaving the base under the orb, exposing it to the world. The figure repeated the process with the second case. It pulled branches in front and threw leaves on it. It then left the island just as inconspicuously as it came.  
  
* * * Bulma had given up trying to get Vegeta to dance at the reception. He and Piccolo were such wallflowers. They never wanted to have any fun. She sat down next to him and put her hand on his thigh.  
  
"Why don't you want to dance?"  
  
"I don't particularly care for your taste in dance music."  
  
Bulma had always had a nostalgia for 1980's dance music, hair band power ballads, and high publicity pop rock such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. But these weren't the only things she liked. They were back at the mansion in the backyard, having a huge ball. Bulma constructed a dance floor, hired a DJ and live entertainment. Everyone was having the time of their life, except for Vegeta it seemed, who seemed to be lost in thought.  
  
"You." She always, for some reason took Vegeta's pessimism as a turn on. She smiled, shook her head, and kissed him on the cheek. Everyone that Bulma ever knew was there, except Goku and Yamcha. She had an incomplete feeling about the wedding just because those two weren't there. She had known them both for more than half of her life, and missed them both dearly. Stupid Goku had to go off and get himself killed, and she guessed it was too painful for Yamcha to see her getting married to someone other than him. He probably still hadn't gotten over it, but that didn't change anything. She still missed him greatly.  
  
In the background, Master Roshi was still hitting on the younger girls in attendance as Chi-Chi came up and sat at the newly weds' just opposite of them. The three were the only ones at the table.  
  
"Congratz you two." Chi-Chi said.  
  
"Thanx," Bulma told her. Vegeta gave a reluctant smile and a thanking nod, keeping his eye to the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry Goku couldn't be here. He really wanted to see the day that this would finally happen."  
  
"Don't be sorry! You talk like it's your fault!"  
  
"Oh, I know, sorry," She flashed Vegeta the evil eye. Bulma picked up on it and quickly changed the subject.  
  
"So, where are the kids?"  
  
"Out on the front lawn, playing as usual."  
  
Bulma saw Gohan and Videl coming off the dance floor and flagged them over, attempting to create a diversion before tension infused between Chi-Chi and Vegeta.  
  
Vegeta realized what she was doing and whispered into Bulma's ear ,"I think I need some fresh air", and he started to get up.  
  
Not realizing he was doing her a favor, Bulma said ,"But we're outside."  
  
He got frustrated and said in a slightly louder voice, loud enough for a few people to her him ,"Well away from all this noise then." With that, he slowly walked toward the front lawn.  
  
Bulma's mind finally clicked. She wanted to go with him, but figured it best if she stayed.  
  
Vegeta went around toe the front of the mansion, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.  
  
Chi-Chi still blamed him for Goku's death. He didn't know if she thought he did it, or if she though he was inadvertently responsible, or what not. Vegeta tried not to blame her, she never was entirely stable. He didn't really care how she felt, however. He tried to tell her the truth about what happened, but she wouldn't listen, thinking it was too made up. Her being a human he didn't blame her, it would sound far fetched to someone who hasn't seen half of what he has. He told no one else, not even Bulma. He saw no real reason n telling people. They didn't need to knew, but he felt she did. All he could do for her was lead the jackass to the water. He couldn't make it drink.  
  
Vegeta looked up and saw his son playing with his best friend. He cracked a smile and chuckled slightly to himself. For that moment, he was at peace.  
  
* * *  
  
"Do you guys need anything?", Gohan asked before he left the Kame House.  
  
"No, but thank you for the ride," Master Roshi said as Oolong walked into the house.  
  
"No problem, and thanx for coming." And with that, Gohan flew away, waving goodbye. Master Roshi went inside the house, took off his turtle shell, laid down on the couch, and turned on the TV. He must have gotten four or five phone numbers at the wedding. He was about to call one of them when he remembered."Oolong, can you do me a favor and water my geraniums?"  
  
"Now why the fuck would I do that?"  
  
"Coz I let you watch That Crime Scene Thingy show when my exercise show was on last night. You said you would pay me back, remember?"  
  
"Aw damnit." He knew he was right, and for once didn't feel much like arguing. He went outside.  
  
Good, that little pig is gone, Master Roshi thought to himself. Now he had some time to himself. He went through his pocket and pulled out the first number: a girl named Rebecca. She had some sort of cute nickname, but he couldn't remember it. She said no one ever calls her Rebecca, except her brother. He got half way through dialing the first number when Oolong called for him from the back yard.  
  
"Ugh, Master Roshi, I think you should see this."  
  
Master Roshi slammed the phone on the receiver ,"Damnit Oolong!! I was doing something important!!!!" He stomped outside to where Oolong was. "Now what was so important that you had to" Oolong pointed at the objects hidden in the flower bushes. "Oh my gosh."  
  
"What are they? Some sort of fungus?" Oolong asked. Before them were two oval shaped growths coming out of the ground.  
  
"I don't know, probably." They both stared at them in amassment. Master Roshi broke the silence. "Ok.kick it."  
  
"I'm not gonna kick it, you kick it."  
  
"No you kick it."  
  
"No you kick it."  
  
"Ok, fine, I'll kick it you big wuss!" Master Roshi yelled. He kicked it just hard enough to shake it a little bit.  
  
"Nothing happened." Oolong said.  
  
"I CAN SEE THAT!!!" Master Roshi screamed.  
  
The two started shouting and arguing when the pod that got kicked top's peeled open like a banana. The two stopped and looked over at it. Then they looked at each other, looked back, and Oolong said "What the hell..?"  
  
Master Roshi pushed him aside a little bit and looked inside the pod. There was something in it, though he couldn't quite make it out. He went in for a closer look.  
  
Almost immediately, something sprang onto his face and enveloped him in darkness. He fell to his back and thrashed around violently to try to get it off. He felt something being forced down his throat. He heard Oolong yell his name, then he heard him scream. His screams soon became muffled and were mixed with a loud thud and the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping. The sounds the started to fade off as Master Roshi faded out of consciousness. 


	4. Married With Children

Chapter 4 - Married With Children  
  
"TRUNKS!!!". Oh no, he was going to get it now. He had over slept and forgot he had chores to do. His father crashed into the room.  
  
"I thought I told you to cut that grass yesterday!"  
  
"You did!" Trunks raised his forearm in front of his face in fear that his father was about to hit him.  
  
"Then why didn't you do it?"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"My alarm clock didn't go off!"  
  
"Since when do you rely on alarm clocks to wake you up?"  
  
"Since when do I not!?"  
  
Vegeta snatched the clock up and threw it out of the open window.  
  
"Never rely on something to do something for you! It makes you weak!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, 'it makes me friggin weak'!?"  
  
"Don't use words like that with your father!"  
  
"Hell hell hell! Frig frig frig!"  
  
Bulma listened to the argument rage on and couldn't help but laugh. She remembered the arguments she used to have with her parents over chores. She used to do the same things Trunks was doing, scream and mock. She popped some bread in the toaster and got out 5 plates from the cabinet above it. Now she was a mother and a house wife. Anyone who knew her when she was a teenager would have never seen this coming, but people change throughout time. It certainly happened to her. She always used to be out on some adventure, chasing after dragon balls, dodging pitfalls, getting kidnapped, the list goes on. But now she was doomed to be a homemaker for the rest of her life. The strange thing was, though, she didn't care.  
  
"Don't you go through the kitchen boy! Go straight out the front door.!"  
  
Trunks rolled his eyes, turned around, walked out the door, and slammed it behind him. Bulma didn't even realize that he was in the room with her, she was so deep in thought.  
  
"AND IF I DON'T HEAR THAT MOWER IN 5 MINUTES I'M GONNA BE REALLY PISSED OFF!!!!!"  
  
"Calm down Vegeta!" Bulma said with slight laughter behind her voice. Vegeta sat down ate the chair opposite her on the 6 foot diameter, circular kitchen table.  
  
"He needs to learn to do his chores when I tell him to."  
  
"Hey! Veggie head! It's nine o'clock! You told him to do it when he wakes up!"  
  
"No, I told him to do it at 7."  
  
"You can't expect him to get up that early! Especially when his alarm clock is broken."  
  
"What is with you earthlings and alarm clocks?"  
  
The mower started in the background.  
  
"It's called 'we like sleep'! Get used to it!" Bulma, still laughing under her breath.  
  
"Oh, so he got the idea from you!"  
  
"Or maybe it's in his blood!"  
  
"I don't believe this! This is so typical of you humans. You sleep late, you're lazy, you have no self discipline."  
  
Now Bulma was getting annoyed, "Wait! Is this about that fighting thing again!?"  
  
"No, it's about him becoming a decent individual."  
  
"What the hell does that have to do with chores?!"  
  
"He has to respect his parent's orders! If he doesn't do that then kind of person is he going be?"  
  
"The fuck Vegeta! It's 9 on a fucken Sunday morning! He's fucken 12 years old!"  
  
"Well when I was his age I went through worse!"  
  
"That doesn't mean you have ta put him through it!"  
  
"I'M NOT!!!...I'm trying to make sure he has it better than I did."  
  
Things got quiet for a minute. Bulma spoke up first. "Sorry."  
  
Vegeta was looking at the ground shaking his head "Ughhhh.you don't have to be. Hmph. I.I'm just trying to make it so that he grows up knowing a family unlike I did. I'm showing him discipline the only way I know how. Maybe next time I should talk it over with you." He flopped into a chair at the table. "I don't know how you guys handle this shit here." He was feeling really confused at the moment. He thought he was doing the right thing and only got scolded for it.  
  
Bulma sat down in the chair across from Vegeta. "Vegeta..uh.." her eyes circled the room as she thought about what to say. "You heart was in the right place, but you went about doin' it the wrong way..You shouldn't have jumped down his throat before he even wakes up. Let him do that, and eat, then make him work next time. If he gives you back talk, then you can yell at him."  
  
Vegeta wasn't looking at her, but he was listening. He was processing the new information in his head. Maybe she was right. He sighed to himself and looked at Bulma.  
  
She looked back with these sad, puppy dog eyes.  
  
The toast in the toaster popped up.  
  
Bulma and Vegeta both leapt across the table at each other and started making out uncontrollably, knocking down dishes and cups while they went at it. Unlike most parents with an adolescent child, they still acted as if they were teenagers. And they went rough. Vegeta swept everything off the table behind Bulma, not caring that the end result was several broken plates and glasses, and literally slammed her on the table. She smiled up at him as he ripped open her button up shirt, exposing her bra. The started, once again extremely roughly, making out. Bulma was squeezing him tightly with her arms and legs while he was caressing the back of her head with his right hand and her back with his left. For a good minute, they did nothing else. Then, Vegeta pulled away for a second and looked into Bulma's eyes. She looked back and smiled. Vegeta crooked an eyebrow and quickly turned his head to the kitchen window. A look of concern shot across Bulma's face.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Vegeta got off her and darted for the back door. He ran around to the side of the mansion where the tool shed was. Just sitting outside the open shed was a running sit down mower, sitting still, with no one on it.  
  
"SON OF A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!" He powered up and took off into the air.  
  
Bulma rushed outside with her arms around herself to close her shirt around her, and made it out just in time to see Vegeta in the air and disappear over the tree line. She surveyed the scene. Mower running, no one on it, Vegeta blasting off at the speed of light. Trunks ran off to Goten's.  
  
* * *  
  
Vegeta was flying so fast that if his face hit a bug, it would go through his eye socket and out the back of his skull. He was so mad at his son right now that if he got a hold of him, he would rip off his head and shit down his neck! The air was rushing around him it was like lying in a wind tunnel with Gale force winds. How could his son even fathom pulling a stunt like this? He deliberately fooled his father for the sole reason of making him mad. Well, now he did and he was going to regret it. He reached the main land mountains and went blazing over the peaks to Goku's house.  
  
Oh shit, he all of the sudden remembered. Chi-Chi lived there too. Ugh, he didn't need her shit right now. He had taken on some of the worst guys in the universe, but Chi-Chi was something he couldn't handle, especially now that he was on her bad side. He would have to play it Bogart, and hope she didn't get in his way. He started coming up on the house. He gritted his teeth and began to descend.  
  
He landed a few feet away from the front door. Gohan was leaning in the doorway with a somewhat angry look on his face. He seemed to be waiting for Vegeta. Vegeta examined the scene, looked Gohan up and down, and then looked him straight in the eye.  
  
"What!?" He blunted out.  
  
Gohan closed his eyes and pulled from behind his back a certain purple haired 12 year old and lifted him to eye level by his collar. Trunks struggled to get free, but to no avail. Vegeta snatched the boy up and grunted ,"Thanx."  
  
Vegeta put his son on the ground and slapped him across the mouth.  
  
"What the hell did you do that for!?"  
  
"Don't give me that shit! Now you get your ass home before I really lose my temper!"  
  
Trunks started walking in the general direction the mansion was in.  
  
"NOW DAMNIT!!!" He threw a small ki blast at his feet to get him motivated. When it exploded on the ground behind him, he blasted off into the air towards home. Vegeta was about to go too until Gohan spoke up.  
  
"Vegeta, uh., are you guys playing cards anytime soon?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Coz I wanna swing by."  
  
"Why do you want to do that?"  
  
"Been kinda board recently and am looking for somethin' to do. I'd hang out with Videl, but she's at some promotion with her father."  
  
Vegeta looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head as he thought up an answer. "Well.we play Thursday night. Just show up and we'll see. It's not my call." Before Gohan could thank him, he blasted off in a burst of air and sound. Gohan thought it typical and went back into the house. Goten was sitting on the living room couch, watching TV and eating potato chips from the bag.  
  
"You're lucky mom wasn't her to bust your chops," Gohan, scolding Goten.  
  
"Why? It ain't my fault he got in trouble."  
  
"Yeah it is! You brought him over!"  
  
"We planned to get together today yesterday!"  
  
"Well, next time you go over there and he's doing chores the plans are off!"  
  
"You better not get me in trouble."  
  
"You keep talking to me like that and I will."  
  
"You do and I'll tell mom that you are goin' out gambling instead of with Videl."  
  
"I'm not gambling, I'm going ta find out what happened to dad."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Gohan paused for a second and answered truthfully ,"Coz mom won't tell us."  
  
Why the fuck did that son of a bitch want to come to the game, Vegeta thought to himself. He didn't think Gohan was telling the truth. That "nothing to do excuse" may have been an alternate motive, but there was definitely something else on his mind. Vegeta was coming up to the city now. He began slowing down and flying closer to the ground to avoid being noticed. He told Gohan that him joining the game wasn't his call because it wasn't, it was Yamcha's. He started the thing a bit after the whole Buu fiasco, probably because he was board since he didn't want to fight anymore. He asked Bulma if once a month he could get all the other Z fighters together and play cards in her billiard room in the mansion basement. It was fun, every once in a while. Sometimes, subjects would come up that would either annoy him or piss him off. It was at times funny, though. Krillin got drunk once or twice before. The first time he did, Yamcha told a short guy joke and Krillin took it completely personal. He jump up and said ,"Are you calling me a pussy!?" . Yamcha gave him the most confused look that Vegeta has ever seen, and Krillin jump across the table and sucker punched him. When they finally pulled Krillin off Yamcha, he vomited all over the place. Vegeta couldn't stop laughing for 2 days. Drunk people were funny, he thought to himself.  
  
Vegeta landed to the pleasant sound and sight of Trunks moving the lawn. He figured he would let him finish before he would hound him. He walked inside through the backdoor and into the kitchen, where he ran into Mr. And Mrs. Briefs; not who he was looking for.  
  
"Good morning, Vegeta." Mr. Briefs said politely.  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
"Where were you at all morning?", Mrs. Briefs asked.  
  
Vegeta was about to open his mouth and say something smart when Bulma came in the room.  
  
"Oh, you're back."  
  
"Um, Bulma, what was all that commotion we heard early this morning?", her mother asked.  
  
"Vegeta and Trunks got into an argument about chores. Then he ran off to Goten's. He's gonna get punished for that."  
  
"Well, he should be for breaking all of those plates and glasses," Mr. Briefs said, taking a sip of his coffee.  
  
Vegeta and Bulma both looked up at eachother, as if trying to communicate by thought. They were mouthing word to each other, but neither of them could read lips very well. Bulma shrugged her shoulders, and slightly shook her head. Vegeta closed his eyes, palmed himself on the forehead, and mouthed an F word that Bulma did recognize.  
  
"That was me Mr. Briefs. I will replace them," Vegeta admitted.  
  
"Why? What happened?", Mrs. Briefs asked.  
  
Vegeta and Bulma went through the a similar ritual to the one they just had five seconds prior, only this time, with two spectators.  
  
Bulma spoke up. "Um. It.uh.was.uh.Vegeta's unique way of making up for an argument we had?". It was meant to be a statement, but came out as a question. All three people in the room gave her a look that had "What the hell?" written all over it. 


	5. What Dreams May Come

Chapter 5 - What Dreams May Come  
  
She thought she was back at her old high school visiting with old friends, but now she found herself in a dark, wide room, haunted by sounds of torment and anguish. It took her a while to realize she was in her bedroom, and those sounds were coming from Vegeta. She was confused for a second. She sat up and looked over at him. They were in the same bed, so it wasn't too hard to see him. He kept moaning and mumbling words to himself that she couldn't understand. He seemed to be in some sort of pain. His eyes were slammed shut and he was gritting his teeth in between noises. She has known that Vegeta had been having a problem with nightmares, but this seemed like a night terror. She didn't know what they were about, he never told her. They had to be bad.what ever they were. She was debating with herself whether to let him go through it or wake him up.  
  
She looked over at the only bit of light in the, the alarm clock. 4 am. It seemed earlier than that. She was about to get up and go to the bathroom, when she was stopped by a sound that threw her out of the bed, literally. Vegeta began screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs and thrashing about on the bed. Bulma started getting scared as she lied on the ground, watching him scream in pain as if he was being dissected alive. In the middle of everything, he knocked over the lamp on the night stand and it shattered on the floor. She had to wake him up before he inadvertently destroyed the house with a ki blast. She wasn't sure how, so she took the most direct approach. She got back on the bed, being very careful no to be hit, and shook his shoulder.  
  
Before she realized what happened, sheets flew up in her face. She felt pressure on her neck, then her body began to fly. She felt her back collide into something. Her spine shook because of it. Then her head snapped against what ever it was behind her. Her vision went completely black. When it cleared up, she was met with something she couldn't comprehend at first. Vegeta, had her pinned against the wall by his neck with his fist raised, ready to strike, and a look on his face that told her he was about to kill her. It took what felt like an hour for her to fully realize what was going on. It took Vegeta a bit longer.  
  
You could see it in his face when it clicked. First, his face expressed confusion, then he began breathing hard as it turned to disbelief. He quickly let her go and stormed into the bathroom. Bulma slid down to the floor and collapsed as she gagged and coughed. She didn't even realize through the whole thing that she wasn't breathing. She felt the blood return to her head, and it hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to blink, it hurt to keep her saliva in her. She was coughing one of those really deep down, lung clearing, wet coughs before she could really grasp what happened. She was able to pull herself together and sat up. She was debating whether or not to go in or wait for him to come out.  
  
She was trying to figure out what could invoke him to have a dream like that. She wasn't mad at him, but still shaken. Vegeta rather depressingly stumbled out of the bathroom. He looked over at Bulma, then looked terribly concerned as he stammered ,"Ah no.". He rushed back into the bathroom, and came out with a wet linen towel. He ran up to Bulma, and delicately put it on the back of her head. Bulma was a bit confused, but when she saw the look on his face, it told her not to look at the wall.  
  
She did anyway.  
  
Due to the lack of light, there was no color on the dark, black splotch on the wall that had lines slowly running down, away from it. She didn't know she was hurt that bad. Vegeta sat her up on the bed as he turned the towel around.  
  
"You should be using coldwater to reduce the swelling."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Now Bulma was scared. Vegeta NEVER apologized for anything.  
  
"That's ok. All your heart was in the right place."  
  
"I mean about hurting you."  
  
Bulma was lost for words. She tried to stammer something out.  
  
"Wha, what were you dreaming about?"  
  
"..don't ask."  
  
"Vegeta.I know what this is about coz it's the only thing you don't talk about when asked."  
  
"I.I really don't wanna talk about it."  
  
She turned around to face him. He looked in her eyes and they told him that she wasn't mad. They told him that it was ok, that she would understand.that everything would be ok. He almost broke down. He almost told her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't do it. He didn't know why. Maybe she would think less of him. Maybe she would think he was lying. There where too many maybes and Vegeta didn't want to take that chance. He didn't want to hurt what he and Bulma had, if he hadn't just now. He suddenly felt nauseous. He got up and headed for the bathroom. Bulma followed him. When he got in the bathroom, he went straight to the faucet. He cupped his hands and splashed water on his face.  
  
"You can't keep it bottled up forever."  
  
He picked his head up and looked at her through the mirror. "Please leave me alone about it."  
  
"It's becoming a problem. Look at what just happened."  
  
"Please." He put more water on.  
  
"I'm seriously concerned. This isn't right. What ever happened to you, you can tell me."  
  
"You wouldn't understand."  
  
"I wouldn't? You don't think I've seen some fucked up shit in my life? Seven balls that summon a huge dragon that can grant any wish, being turned into a carrot, shape shifters, kidnappings, people rising from the grave, a holocaust that killed everyone on earth, I think I can understand what ever it is."  
  
He turned around to face her. "How can you when I don't?"  
  
There was a silence. Vegeta leaned back on the sink counter, staring at the floor.  
  
He spoke up first. "Have I ever done anything like this before."  
  
"You have screamed and moaned, but not anything this bad."  
  
Again, silence.  
  
"Look, I don't blame you.I just wish you would tell me so you can stop going through this pain."  
  
He looked up at her without turning his head. "I will when I can come to grips with it."  
  
"That's all I ask. I'm here for you. I don't want to see you like this."  
  
Vegeta still couldn't forgive himself for what he did. The pain of the experience was killing him inside, and it was coming out. He had to find a way to relieve the pain, and confiding in her only seemed like it would make things worse.  
  
"Look, I'm gonna get the blood outta my hair, and go down and start breakfast early. You stay here and cool down a bit."  
  
  
  
Author's Notes  
  
I usually don't have breaks like this in the story, and I don't plan on doing it often, but I believe it is necessary here. First, I would like to apologies for my lack of updates. The reason for this is that this chapter was not in the original draft. It was also one of the most difficult pieces of literature I have ever written. I went through several drafts, all I disliked, until I made this. I think this is a good draft to settle on, but I seriously need your feedback. Please tell me if you liked or disliked this chapter. I seriously need you guys' input. This is my first attempt ever at expressing emotions like this and I feel it is integral to the story. Once again, I do apologies. Please tell me what you think. And, if it is seriously bad, I shall rewrite it.  
  
I seriously cannot continue writing until I know if you guys are satisfied with this chapter. Thank you for your time and reading. 


	6. Total Recall

Chapter 6 - Total Recall  
  
"In the twelfth case this month, a child has been found brutally slain in the city's sewer system. So far, by speculation by the police, it is believed to be connected to the several other vicious killings in the city, which includes the mayor's wife, Akeme Hiramoto. All of the victims were found in isolated parts of the city, and were sadistically gutted to death. Still, no suspect has been named in the killings. There does not even seem to be a clear motive either. The killings, as the police say, seem to be completely at random. There have been no leads, or clues, except with the likelihood that all killings were done by the same person. Police urge you not to travel alone, day or night, and to stay away from secluded areas at night until the killer is apprehended.  
  
"In other, more lighter news, Capsule Corp. stocks soared."  
  
"Have you heard about this?" Bulma typed into her instant messenger  
  
"What, about the murders?" her friend typed back.  
  
"Yeah, I'm kinda getting freaked." Right now, it was too early to start breakfast, so Bulma was having a little munchie for herself to try and kill time, hoping her headache would go away. Right now, she was talking to her favorite pen-pal.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. You have that world famous husband."  
  
"Yeah, world famous for 15 minutes."  
  
"I guess. Hard to believe a guy that nearly destroys a city can be forgotten so quickly."  
  
She explained to him a million times, so she just typed ,"Don't be a jerk."  
  
"j/k". She thought he was an asshole for that, but quickly forgave him. "But seriously, isn't he some sort of fighting champ or something?"  
  
"He never won anything, but you can say he's good."  
  
"Well, just stay near him until this all blows over."  
  
"It's still a little spooky."  
  
"I guess it would be. I'm glad I live in Kyushu so I don't have to put up with it."  
  
"Just consider yourself lucky!"  
  
"Yeah yeah. Well I better sign off. Gotta go to my healthcare receiver specialist job."  
  
"K, same time tomorrow?"  
  
"As always."  
  
"K, then cya."  
  
"l8r-----cookie42rules has signed off"  
  
Bulma signed off as well, brought up Winamp, and began to play some smooth jazz. She went into the kitchen, still able to hear the music, and poured herself some coffee, straight black. She leaned over the kitchen sink, sipping her coffee, and looked out the window. The sun was beautiful coming up. It lit the sky a brilliant orange and the clouds a deep purple. The sight just made her think about just an hour or so ago. She knew what it was about because he wasn't like this before he left for purge. He was arrogant, proud, confident, but now he was timid, quiet, and depressed. He was still Vegeta, the man she loved, but.not. What could have happened up there?  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked from behind her, hair still wet, but with dry clothes on.  
  
"Yeah, it's just a little scratch. I'm fine."  
  
Vegeta still couldn't come to grips with what he did. She could see it in the way he acted. It was hard for him to look her in the eye, and he was biting his under lip and shaking his head. He sat down at the kitchen table and seemed to start thinking.  
  
"Really, I'm ok. It doesn't."  
  
"What's for breakfast?"  
  
Vegeta needed a smile at this point. "Bullshit and snot."  
  
"Wha?", he sounded like he was still half asleep.  
  
"Eggs and French toast."  
  
"Oh," Vegeta had a confused look in his eye as he lip-synced words, knowing he heard something different the first time. After a second or 2, he shrugged it off.  
  
"Did you hear some kid was killed last night?"  
  
"I just woke up." He was shaken. And it wasn't what happened a few hours ago, it was Purge. He never used to wake up like this. He always seemed to look like a car wreck. Before he left, he was up like someone gave him an adrenaline shot to the heart. But now, something was gone from him. He seemed to force himself up now, not having the same ambition about the day. She wished he would free the weight off of his own shoulders and just tell her before it kills him.  
  
"Well, the poor kid was butchered. They think it has something to do with the other murders recently."  
  
Vegeta didn't care. He had something else on his mind, so he spoke up.  
  
"Bulma, I'm going to the mountains today to try to clear my head. If you can, can you do something for me?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I need you to contact those resistance fighters that you came across on your way to Namek, and ask them if Freeza's men have regrouped."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It may help me get over this if you get an answer. I'll tell ya more about it later."  
  
"Yeah sure. I'll have to do it when I get back from the city though. Me and Chi-Chi were gonna do a little shopping."  
  
"Please do it whenever you can. I should be back in time for the game tonight."  
  
"Ok."  
  
* * *  
  
She took the subway into town as usual. She never drove into the inner city because parking was horrendous, she never took a bus because they were slow, and never took a taxi because, well, some of the drivers were down right weird. The subway was perfect, in matters of transportation. There always seemed to be a terminal within blocks of where you wanted to go, the stops were short, and they weren't nearly as crowded as the media portrayed them to be, half of the time. The subways themselves were a different story. They were dark, dank places littered with graffiti, the wall paint was chipping off, some of the advertisement posters had been there for years and were faded and torn, and the last time they were renovated was probably 1962. Yet, Bulma had some sort of weird infatuation with all of that. She found herself strangely attracted to all of its impurities, which almost made it an adventure every time she rode. Most people were repulsed by the subway's dark, claustrophobic feel, but Bulma welcomed it.  
  
She was sitting at the single seat next to the window, as usual. She enjoyed looking at the pitch black outside the well lit train. A light from the subway would pass every seconds and illuminate the street art that littered the subway walls. Attempting to decipher the jig-saw like letters of the talented artists was amusing to her, despite the fact that she knew it degraded the place, and that the artists were usually street punks that would not hesitate to rob her at gun point. Sometimes, the messages would make her laugh out loud, but most of the time, it was somebody's name; their somewhat ignorant, yet futile attempt at fame. Some of the messages made no sense at all. It was these kind of messages that bugged her the most. They lingered on like an itch on her back that she couldn't scratch.  
  
The train slowed and a recorded voice came over the intercom. "53rd Street." The darkness outside the window turned to light and the train soon came to a stop. The recorded voice came back on "Doors are opening." This was her switch-over. She had to get on a different train. She got up and exited the door that was ten feet behind her. Almost immediately after she got out, she heard "Doors are closing." The doors closed behind her and the train took off, disappearing into the darkness. The station was slightly crowded. The occupants range from the common office worker, wearing a brown trench coat, newspaper in both hands with thick rimmed prescription glasses, to the "wannabe" bad asses made famous in 1980's movies, wearing black leather, chains, and multi-colored spiked hair. She knew where she was going, she had been this way many times before. The subway line she needed to get to was a short walk away. She went up a flight of concrete steps to the upper level. Up there, it was like a mini-mall: restaurants, pharmacies, convenience stores, things of that sort. Not every terminal enjoyed the benefits of having these clusters of stores, several major lines intersected here. She didn't bother to stop, she didn't need anything there. She proceeded to walk towards the other side of the terminal. This area was heavily populated. The uninterruptible sounds of scores of people talking dominated her ears, numerous nameless faces walk left and right in front of her, then disappearing from vision, a man propped up on a wall at her 10 o'clock playing his guitar with the case open on the ground containing an assortment of silvers and green paper, and a young fellow with the front of his body leaning against a pillar with his hands behind his back with a black man wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a goatee repeating the lines that were all too familiar in cop TV shows, and holding his wrists with something wile a man in street clothes was next to them babbling number codes into a walkie-talkie.  
  
A narrow sign that read "Vine Street Express Line" hung over a small tunnel at the corner of the terminal. That was her exit. It was a small crevice that stank of urine and the yellow paint on the walls had faded to yellow. Nobody was in it though, most people picked up the line at the beginning or end. This was only one of it's three stops. It was mostly made for getting from one end of the city to another. It was crowded at times, but only during rush hours. She made her way out of the tunnel and into a smaller terminal. She turned left and went down a flight of steel steps that were barely wide enough for two people. At the bottom was the train platform. A few people were down there waiting. A father and his daughter, a man in a business suit, a rather shady woman that looked like she had something to sell, and three teenage that looked like they had something else on their minds other than catching a train. They were Caucasian, ebonic speaking young men with baggy jeans that sagged well below their waist, exposing their underpants, white spaghetti-string like tank tops, all with either crew cuts or bald heads, except for one who wore a bright blue hat curved side ways and tilted backwards. Bulma rolled her eyes at the mere sight of them. She had only been there a minute when the tree of them jumped down onto the tracks, a good ten feet below them, crossed over to the other line, ran down the subway, and disappeared into the darkness, laughing and swearing to each other all of the way.  
  
Five minutes later, the train came by and picked up the passengers. Bulma took her usual seat that was universal to all trains and sat down. It was amazing to her how she just got out of the wreck that was the 53rd Street Terminal, and walked into a train that looked like it just came out of a Sci-Fi movie. All of the trains were like this, even the one she just came from. But the astonishment was in the comparison of where she just was and where she was at now. In here, it had a nice color scheme of grey, silver, and blue, the floors were spick and span, the seats were totally padded, the windows didn't have a streak or scratch on them, and best of all, there was no odor. It really showed where the transportation authority was putting their money.  
  
She looked out of her window. She was just staring out, day dreaming as usual, when for a split second, she saw over on the other line the three teenagers from the platform. They were all facing the wall; each with an aerosol can in hand. And just like that, they were out of sight. But what got her more was what she saw two lights down. She was still looking out when she saw something over where the far subway wall meets the ground. It wasn't illuminated very well, which may have been why it confused her so much. It looked like some sort of large animal running on all fours in the opposite direction of the train. It looked like it had a long tail that curled over it like a backwards "C" with an arrow head at the end. She almost jumped out of her seat. It didn't look like anything she had ever seen before. And in a blink of an eye, it was gone. She turned her head to see if she really saw something, but the train was moving too fast. What ever she saw, it couldn't have been a real animal. Nothing like it existed. Maybe she was seeing things.  
  
* * *  
  
The blood was rushing to Vegeta's head. This was about the 250th tree he had done this on. He was getting slower, but that was excusable since he had been climbing up and down 100 foot high trees and hanging upside down. He was doing it non-stop since 7 a.m. He really needed to get his mind off of certain things. He was near the top of this one. He had to get back in the habit of training extensively; he was loosing it. He used to be able to do this exercise in two hours less than it was taking him now, and with fewer mistakes. He had fallen once today, flat on his face from 20 feet up. After that, he left a crater the size of a football field where he screwed up. When he finally finished his last one for the day, he threw himself high into the air, and threw a ki blast like a baseball at the tree's trunk, which split it like an axe.  
  
He was finally done for today. The sun was setting and the sky was turning orange. It was getting late and he had a date to keep. He would have to come back tomorrow and be more creative with his exercises, something that would work out more that just his arms. He lightly landed close by where he put his stuff down. He walked over to his bag, opened it up, and took out a towel and wrapped it around his neck. He sat down and leaned his back against a tree. He reached over to a thermos and drank from it. He had to cool off before he left. He wasn't gonna put his shirt back on until he was about to leave. He was really kicking him self in the ass right now. He was getting rust. It was horrible. He hadn't trained in months or anything. He had to get back on track. He reached back in his bag and turned on the F.M. radio.  
  
He was hoping Bulma remembered to contact that resistance. It bothered him that Freeza's army might had regrouped. If they did, and what he read in that journal was true, than what happened on Purge could happen anywhere, even on Earth. If it was wrong, maybe it was just a freak accident that they got in that prison. He was hoping for the later. He had no intention of encountering anything again soon, especially in his "condition".  
  
Vegeta began to pack up and walked over to a nearby stream to splash some water on his face. He neglected to turn off the radio. Vegeta was out of ear shot when the music cut off and a voice came on.  
  
"Breaking news. Three teenage boys have just been found slaughtered near the 53rd Street Terminal moments ago."  
Author's Notes  
  
Thank you, everyone, for you overwhelming response to my last chapter. You guys are my life blood. My reason for writing. I hold all of you criticism dear to my heart, bad or good. Please, always let me know what you think. I love to here from you guys. Thanx again to everyone for their undying support. I hope to hear from you all again soon.  
  
Oh, and everyone go read Emy's "Horsing Around". I'm turning that into a full length movie next year and I would like to know what you guys think of that (the story). It's a CSI murder/mystery drama that I am gonna turn into an original film with an actual budget unlike my last film. Please go read and review her story.  
  
Thanx again guys!!! 


	7. Deuces Wild

Chapter 7 - Duces Wild  
  
"He's late again."  
  
"Since when is he not late?"  
  
"Wanna deal a hand 'til he gets here?"  
  
"He got pissed off last time we did that."  
  
"Yeah, but we're betting that time."  
  
"Just wait 5 minutes Krillin."  
  
"Bulma needs to teach him some punctuality skills."  
  
"Man, he's coming back from training too. He's gonna be sweating like a pig and sweating like a skunk..."  
  
"Shut up Yamcha."  
  
"I'm only talking about Vegeta."  
  
"Well I don't dig it."  
  
"Calm down Piccolo."  
  
"I just wanna have a relaxing time and not have it turn into a bar fight like last time, Tien."  
  
"Dido that. Just keep your mouth shut this time Yamcha..." Tien was cut off when the door to their private billiard room crept open. Everyone in the room: Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, and Krillin, were expecting Vegeta, but got a different Sayain instead, Gohan. Krillin spoke up.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Vegeta said I could come, is that ok?"  
  
The four each had a puzzled look on their faces. Then Vegeta stepped out from behind Gohan. He wasn't waiting there, he had just got in and was anxious to sit down.  
  
"Is it okay if he plays tonight?" It must have shocked the living hell out of them. Gohan was a second generation Z Fighter. Even though he was at a ripe age now, he was still a child in their eyes. He had been fighting with them since he was five, and they still saw him as that age. They tried to shelter him from the lives they'd had to live, but were forced to call on him at times because, as much as they hated to admit it, he was the strongest fighter in the universe.  
  
Yamcha was baffled. He knew it was his call because this was his game. "Uh...". He was looking back and forth between Gohan who was still standing in the doorway and Vegeta who was just now sitting down, almost acting as if nothing was going on. Gohan had to be 22 years old now. It would be awkward with him playing, but..."Yeah, sure." It was just the fact the the kid showed up that made him say it. He would have felt bad if he had to make something up about why he couldn't and sent him back to the mountains. He didn't want to be an asshole...to him at least.  
  
"Thanx," Gohan said.  
  
Krillin went over behind the bar and got him a chair. He set it up just as Gohan came by to take his seat.  
  
The place of the game was a billiard room in the basement of the Breif's mansion. It had a mahogany bar, dark cheery wood pool tables, pin pong, two pinball machines in a far corner, darts, one of those magic touch screen games on the bar table, and, of coarse, card tables. The bar served fountain soda and beer, assorted vodkas, wines, champagnes, rum, liquor, and other condiments for mixed drinks. The room was dimly lit with a red tint. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air. There were a few miscellaneous tables around that were used when the Breif's had a formal get-together, all made of fine mahogany. There was a 16 speaker sound system that was currently playing soft blues music at a low volume.  
  
With Gohan sitting at the table, the others were a bit shaky (except Vegeta and Piccolo, who always seemed to keep their cool no matter what). None of them were wearing the fighting clothes that Gohan was used to seeing them in. The former pro ball player was wearing his old black and white jersey, black jeans, and a backwards white baseball cap. The man with the third eye had blue jeans, sneakers, and a plain black t-shirt tucked into his pants. He was still bald. The ex-monk traded in his orange martial arts outfit for loafers, Khakis, a pale green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, a gold plated Rolex watch on his left wrist, a green and white card player's visor, and a full head of hair. The Sayian was still wearing his dark blue workout suit, tank top, shorts, running shoes, with his hair the same as the day he met him. Gohan's childhood friend and mentor, the Namek, was also wearing a plain blue outfit, same brown shoes as ever, and no turban.  
  
If you entered the room at the same door that Gohan came through, the bar was in the far left corner in front of you and took up more than half of the wall's length. The card table was five feet to the right of the bar, and three feet from the back wall. Krillin was at the chair closest to the bar. He was the unofficial bar tender. To his right was Tien, who was really just there to be with old friends. To his right was Yamcha at the head of the table. He sat at a perpendicular line to the front and back walls. Next to him was Piccolo. He actually enjoyed the games. It was a nice break from his usual life of solitude. Gohan took the seat next to him. He felt comfortable sitting next to the person that half raised him, but he was also sitting next to the one who kicked him square in the gut just for the fun of it when he was a child, Vegeta. They had subliminally made their peace, however. Vegeta was sitting directly across from Yamcha and to Krillin's left. The significance of the seat that Gohan was in was that it was his father's seat. They used to keep the seat empty during every game, but stopped because it was pointless. The fact that Gohan was sitting there was an accident, but all of the regulars felt a bit weird about it. Gohan had no clue.  
  
The light breeze from the slow turning ceiling fan was gliding across Yamcha's face as he dealt out the first hand.  
  
"The game's 7 card. Whachya wanna do is..."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Dad taught me when I was 8."  
  
Everyone was a bit shocked at this. Goku taught his son how to gamble?  
  
Tien rolled his eyes and put the cards that he had face down on the table.  
  
"Yamcha, you didn't give him chips."  
  
Yamcha gave a blank stare for a second like he was trying to remember something. "Oh shit you're right." All of this shock over Gohan playing made him completely forget to change them. Gohan and Vegeta both went into their pockets. "Vegeta, you got the usual?"  
  
"Yeeeeah," he grumbled. The usual was $100 for him. He put his money down and Yamcha gave him his chips.  
  
"How much ya got Gohan?" He was seriously expecting that he didn't bring anything with him.  
  
"Uh, 200." He came prepared.  
  
"Just gimme half, we shouldn't be here that long."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"He got his appropriate change and Yamcha continued dealing. "Starting bet is one."  
  
Gohan studied his hand and almost immediately put two cards down at his turn. "Yeah, two."  
  
Krillin had to ask. "So, Gohan, why ya here?"  
  
"I was board at being home all of the time. Goten's in bed now, so mom doesn't need any help with him. It usually leaves me with nothing to do. So I asked if I could come."  
  
Tien spoke up, "What about your girlfriend? You shouldn't be board with her around."  
  
"That's the thing, she's not in town. She's on some sort of promotional tour with her dad."  
  
Everyone collectively groaned. "Mr. Satan," Yamcha said. "What a piece of work that guy is."  
  
Tien "How the hell did you wind up with that asshole's daughter?...Naw, I'll stay"  
  
"Hey, she's nothing like him. The apple fell far from that tree."  
  
Tien put his cards down "Two jacks, double duce."  
  
Krillin, "Two fours."  
  
Vegeta lightly tossed his cards on the table, "Nothin"  
  
Gohan, "Three sixes."  
  
Piccolo, "Two kings, three sevens."  
  
Yamcha, "And you had me thinking I won with that damn poker face of yours."  
  
"What'd you have?" Krillin asked.  
  
"A straight." Yamcha took the cards back and reshuffled as Piccolo took his winnings.  
  
"So, other than that douche bag of a dad, how is she?" Yamcha asked.  
  
Gohan started laughing a bit and pointed right at Yamcha. "Hey, I beg ya not to talk about my girl's dad like that or I'll rip your mouth out." The table started chuckling.  
  
"Shit, the boy's got an attitude." Tien said, laughing.  
  
"Agh, other than that, she's fine. She's gonna be valedictorian of her school."  
  
"Glad to see things are working out for you two." Piccolo said.  
  
"Yeah, thanx."  
  
"You two plan on moving in together?"  
  
"We want to, but mom won't have it. I want to stay home and help her out with Goten, and I want Videl to move in once school's out, but mom got mad at me even proposing the idea."  
  
Everyone immediately shut-up. Once the conversation went to Chi-Chi, no one wanted part in it. Hell hath no fury like her scorn. They went through another hand. This time, Tien won. Yamcha took this opportunity to get on his nerves.  
  
"So how's Dancing Pete", Yamcha teased as he shuffled.  
  
"Would you stop calling him that!  
  
Gohan was confused. "Who's Dancing Pete?"  
  
Pointing his thumb in Yamcha's direction, Tien answered, "This dumbass is dead set that Chao-Tsu looks exactly like some bit character on The Simpsons."  
  
Yamcha started giggling, "He fucken does dude."  
  
Tien gave a motion that he was about to backhand him. "Shut-up! That guys was in like 5 seconds of one episode anyway," he said with a smile and a slow shaking of his head. Not even Vegeta could help but give a small laugh at this.  
  
Krillin laughed a bit. "I think he was in two."  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Just deal already. I gotta break even tonight at least," Vegeta said.  
  
Yamcha began dealing. "Why's that."  
  
"I haven't won in I don't know how long." Vegeta didn't seem as stiff as Gohan was used to seeing him. He was usually boastful and didn't like mingling with people. Here, however, he was much more casual and a lot more cooler. "I'm sick of fucken loosing all the time."  
  
"Maybe you're just having a bout of bad luck," Krillin said.  
  
Vegeta picked up his cards and fanned them. "Yeah, I've been having a lot of that recently."  
  
"Oh, by the way. 18 wanted me to ask you to tell Bulma to get a hold of her. She tried calling today, but no one was home."  
  
"Yeah, she went to town with his," gestured towards Gohan, "mother to do some shopping. She might be down later on to make sure you're not drunk so you can tell her yourself."  
  
"Hey! That only happened once."  
  
"Try four, Krillin," Piccolo said.  
  
Krillin was speechless for a bit and tried to let it pass. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. They continued to play. Gohan won this hand with a full house. Everyone at the table applauded. Gohan gave a reluctant, yet satisfied smile. Krillin slowly got up.  
  
"I think you just earned yourself a...", he stopped and thought for a second. "Do you drink?"  
  
"At times." Gohan answered. "What can ya make?" Once again, he shocked everyone.  
  
"Beer." He said jokingly. A few of them chuckled at the joke.  
  
"Seriously though, he makes a nice vodka martini," Piccolo said.  
  
"Well, here. Lemme try my hand," he said as he got up. Vegeta mouthed "Wha?" to himself as he scooted behind his chair.  
  
"There is no way you know how to make drinks," Piccolo said with a smile.  
  
Already behind the counter, Gohan said, "I've been in college for four years. You think I'm only learning academics there?" This kid was unbelievable. He started to go to work, mixing, shaking, stirring. In no time at all, had a shot glass filled with a mystery fluid.  
  
"Who wants to try?"  
  
The others were utterly stunned. It took them a second before they could pull themselves together.  
  
"What is it?" Krillin asked?  
  
"Nope, try it and guess."  
  
Krillin took the glass and looked at it as the others looked on with utter curiosity. He downed the glass. He then had a surprised look on his face, pleasantly surprised. "You know how to make screw drivers?"  
  
"No shit!" Yamcha said in disbelief  
  
"It's a damn good one too." Krillin replied.  
  
"What else can ya make?" Tien asked.  
  
"I got something you'd like." He went to work again and produced a tumbler with a green substance. "Try that," he handed him the glass. He looked at Gohan, laughed, and drank it. Almost immediately his eyes grew to the size of golf balls as he gagged and grabbed his own throat.  
  
"Wa, wa, wa, wada!! Wada!" Gohan poured some water and laughed a bit as he gave it to him. Tien didn't even put the glass up to his mouth, he just threw the water in.  
  
"More!" As Gohan drew him another glass, Vegeta rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on the victim. Without looking away, he asked ,"What did you give him?" What ever it was, he had to try it.  
  
"I just gave him a dose of jungle juice."  
  
"Ok, mix me up one."  
  
He made one up and threw it at Vegeta, who caught it without spilling a drop. Vegeta tilted his head downward with his eyes closed. He couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He finally lifted his head, and his glass, opened his eyes, looked straight into Gohan's, and said "Cheers." With that, he downed Gohan's brew.  
  
He tried to keep a straight face, but was punished with his eyes tearing. He began heaving dry coughs, and started messaging his throat with his left hand. He didn't react as dramatically as Tien did, but none the less, Gohan's brew was strong. He started waving towards himself, a signal for water, an admission of defeat. The room burst into cheers and laughter. With out looking at Vegeta, Gohan fills a frosted mug of the clear liquid with a smile of satisfaction. Victory.  
  
* * *  
  
About an hour and a half had passed, but nobody was keeping track. A few of them were getting a bit tipsy, but not Gohan. He had two Captain 'n Cokes for the night and was still sipping on his second. He would probably stop there. None of the others were totally sloshed, but some of them were showing signs of getting there. He must have mixed up more than 20 drinks that night. They were still at the poker table, still playing, but were now exchanging stories like old soldiers sharing war tales. Yamcha had started smoking a cigar during the game. Gohan never knew he smoked, but then again, he was finding out a lot of new things about his father's friends.  
  
"So der I wuz...Tied tto 'er bead...'Ad mot'r oil smeered all o'er my body...she came into da bed room wita sadle ,n a set 'a' jumpercables!!"  
  
"NOOOOO!"  
  
"NO WAY!!!"  
  
"BULLSHIT!"  
  
"Krillin, how come you always have the best stroies?"  
  
"Coz my women knows 'ow to work it!" He took another swig of his 7 'n 7 feeling very proud of himself.  
  
Piccolo was staying out of the conversation. It was hard at times not having a female Namek companion.  
  
At that moment, Bulma came in with a plate of nachos. Everyone started applauding. They all loved food. This came as a surprise though, she never did this. She must have known Gohan was there.  
  
"Guys, don't make a mess, coz I'm gonna be the one who winds up cleaning up." Everyone collectively agreed to behave.  
  
"What brings you down here?" Piccolo asked.  
  
"Figured I'd drop in and see what's up and surprise ya guys."  
  
It was a nice plate: cheese, ground beef, jalapenos, sour cream, the list goes on. It was as if a professional chef had made them. A round of thanks came from the table.  
  
"So, who's winning so far?" Bulma asked.  
  
"Piccolo the only one who's making a profit tonight." Vegeta said.  
  
"I just know when to pull out and when to stay."  
  
"What were you guys talking about?"  
  
"Ughhhhhh...guy talk." Tien said, not wanting to lie but not wanting to tell the truth either.  
  
"Oh, I see."  
  
"Don't worry. Vegeta hasn't said anything...yet." Yamcha said.  
  
"Fuck you." Vegeta said with his middle finger directed at Yamcha.  
  
"Well he better not."  
  
"Ooooooooo dude, I think that's a threat." Yamcha blurred out.  
  
"Gohan, you must be the only voice I haven't heard from upstairs," she was trying to make an example out of him so the others would calm down a bit and stop making such a racket.  
  
"Ah, I'm like your husband. I like to keep stories of the matter to myself."  
  
"See that, Vegeta, you can be a positive role model."  
  
"Fuck you too."  
  
"Well, I'm gonna be going back upstairs. Don't make a mess and try to keep it down a bit."  
  
The table gave their apologies and waved good-bye. Yamcha, even though he was over her, for the most part, still had a crush on Bulma that he could never shake. The kind of crush that lies dormant for a while, but flares up at certain times, like now. Bulma was one of those girls that stay's in one's mind until the day he dies. Yamcha had his chance, one that lasted for years, but he screwed it up. He moved on, but still regretted that he was no longer with her. He wasn't going to follow-up on it in anyway against her, but he would like to know a snippet of her love life. He decided he was going to try and get them. "Vegeta. Why won't you share any stories?"  
  
"I have none to share. Gimme three."  
  
"Come on dude. I know how wild Bulma is. You gotta have somethin' crazy to tell us."  
  
"Well, she probably calmed down since you two were together. Don't get your hopes up." He was lying.  
  
Yamcha decided he was going to try to ease him into it by asking something else. "Well, you hafta uv been with someone else before her."  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"And get in trouble when I go back upstairs? No way."  
  
Gohan was listening to the conversation with little interest. He didn't really care what any of their love lives were like. In fact, it almost made him sick. He had his own objective that he wanted to accomplish, steer Vegeta into talking about something he didn't want to talk about. He was hoping that the conversation would just turn in the direction of what happened on Purge. However, at this rate, they weren't. He would either have to steer it there at the next opening in the conversation, or ask to come back. Given his popularity now, it probably wouldn't be a problem, but he really wanted to know what happened to his father now.  
  
"Dude, you were probably with aliens and taught them how to."  
  
"'Ow, dat ood be cool!" Krillin belched out.  
  
"It was, but that's non of you're business."  
  
The ones paying attention went into a burst of "whoa"'s.  
  
"Come on man, what did ya do? What'd she look like?" Yamcha was being persistent.  
  
"I told you, I'm keeping my mouth shut."  
  
"Dude, it's not gonna leave this room."  
  
"Yeah, but this room is in her house."  
  
"Dude, you act like its a bad thing. It's not like you were Freeza's sex slave or anything."  
  
Gohan was resting his arm his head on his hand, which was propped up on the table. He was trying to think how he was going to get Vegeta to talk. All of the different possibilities were running through his head, but none seemed to be pleasing to him. He was almost about to doze off, when he was snapped awake by the table being thrown up from under him. He was splashed by someone's drink and he looked up to see Vegeta diving at Yamcha. Sheer confusion was going through Gohan's head. What did he miss exactly? Vegeta nailed the awe struck Yamcha with a brilliant sucker punch to his jaw. Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien jumped on Vegeta, who was as uncontrollable as a bull.  
  
Yamcha some how made it to his feet and spit red saliva on the ground while the others held Vegeta back. "FUCKEN HELL! What was that for!?" Yamcha lunged at him, but Gohan got between them very quickly.  
  
"Calm down Vegeta! Why the hell did you do that?" Tien asked.  
  
"Just fucken lemme go!"  
  
"Calm down Vegeta!" Piccolo demanded.  
  
Vegeta began to settle down. He was still mad though. The others reluctantly let him go. Gohan stayed between them to make sure nothing else would happen. As Vegeta walked by, he stared Yamcha down. Yamcha did the same. He didn't appreciate being hit like that and he wanted revenge bad at this point. As Vegeta left the room, Gohan turned to Yamcha.  
  
"What the hell did you say to him?!"  
  
"I dunno! We were just talkin' and the fucker nailed me!"  
  
"Great," Gohan thought to himself. He wasn't going to get the answers he so desperately needed.  
  
"Dude, you shouldn't have brought Freeza up. You know how much he hates it when you even mention her name." Tien told him.  
  
"Yeah, what the fuck is up with that anyway?"  
  
"She killed him and had him in relative slavery for almost his whole life."  
  
"Don't bring it up again! I'm sick of these stupid bar fights. Now we better clean this up before Bulma gets down here." Piccolo said. 


	8. Men In Black

Chapter 8 - Men In Black  
  
Bulma grabbed a broom from the closet and took it into the living room. How he got there or why was beyond her, but, there was Krillin, passed out face down on the living room rug and drooling. She was half pissed off, and half ready to laugh hysterically, but they canceled each other out and all she wanted was him gone before her parents woke up. She grabbed the broom just above the brushes and lightly poked him with the handle on his chin. Nothing. She jabbed it into his side.  
  
His eyes snapped open as he snorted in a large amount of air and grumbled ,"My hair!"  
  
Bulma tucked her lips into her head. "18 is gonna kick your ass when you git home."  
  
Krillin the realized he wasn't alone. He turned around and looked at Bulma. Upon seeing her face, he realized he wasn't home. "Awww fuck." He knew his wife was going to kill him for not coming home. He finally picked himself up into a sitting position. He couldn't open his eyes all of the way; he had the Headache from Hell no doubt. "Wha time is it?", he mumbled as he wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth with his wrist.  
  
"6:30. Now hurry your ass outta here before my parents catch ya!"  
  
Krillin tried to get up, but couldn't. "Can I get a little help please?"  
  
"Oh no. I ain' touchin' ya when yer all wet like that."  
  
Krillin gave her a look of disapproval, then tried to get up himself. "Awwww shit." When he finally got up, he looked at Bulma. She pointed at the front door. Just as he started to turn around, Bulma stopped him.  
  
"By the way, do you know where Vegeta ran off to?"  
  
"Uhhh," He looked like he was thinking real hard. "That can't be right."  
  
"What?"  
  
"He said something about going to outer space and teaching alien girls how to grrrughtgrrm...," she couldn't under stand what he was saying ,"yeah."  
  
She probably wouldn't have gotten it if he didn't add "yeah" at the end. "What the fuck? That's not even funny! Get out!"  
  
"Wha!? Tha's wha he said!" he replied indignantly.  
  
"Get out!"  
  
"Urgggh." He turned around and left. He didn't need the loudness, there was enough of that ahead of him.   
  
Bulma turned around and went into the kitchen. She was a bit worried about Vegeta. He usually disappears like this, but he always told her before he went. This time there was no word or anything. This was odd. Then it hit her. She forgot to contact those resistance fighters about Freeza. She was going to have to do it today. Maybe that's what this was about...or maybe he didn't want to sleep with her after what he did. She hoped he didn't feel that way. She did all she could to let him know that everything was all right. She wished that he'd get over this depression soon, this wasn't like him at all. Maybe her contacting those fighter would help make him feel a bit better. Freeza's men regrouping sounded like serious business, so maybe that's what he's been stressing out over. It would explain the nightmares. After the hell Freeza had put Vegeta through, that nightmare was most likely a flashback. The only thing that she didn't understand was how he went about asking her. It sounded like it wasn't that much of a problem to him, more like curiosity. That's probably why she forgot about it until this moment.  
  
When she got into the kitchen, Trunks was there, already wide awake, and going through the cabinets looking for cereal. She wasn't going to make anything this morning, and he seemed to know it. Besides, he had to leave for school in an hour. When he saw her, his first thing he said was ,"Where's Dad?"  
  
"Probably at the beach again."  
  
"Figures."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Didn't you hear the fit he threw last night?"  
  
"Wha? Did he get into another fight?"  
  
"Probably. Sounded like he trashed the place."  
  
"Aw damnit. If he wrecked that place again I'm not gonna let 'em play anymore."  
  
Trunks pulled out a cardboard cereal box with a cartoon character on it. Bulma knew that what ever it was, it was 100% guaranteed to rot his teeth. Vegeta greatly disapproved of him eating "such filth", and to a certain extent, so did she, but she didn't feel like making a fuss over it. Grandparents always spoil their grandchildren, she thought to her self.  
  
* * *  
  
As soon as Trunks got off of the school bus at school, he met up with Tai, his school buddy. Tai had a look of concern on his face and looked like he was itching to tell Trunks something important.  
  
"Trunks, you're not gonna believe this."  
  
"Wha, wha happened?"  
  
"Ami's in the hospital!" Ami was a friend of both of them.  
  
"What's wrong with her?"  
  
"Her brother told me she had food poisoning coz she kept getting bad stomach cramps. Now the board of health is all over the place coz they think she got it here."  
  
"Figures. Is she gonna be okay?"  
  
"They dunno. They can't even visit her because they said she shouldn't be bothered in her condition."  
  
"Why? Is she critical or something?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"Well, what hospital is she at?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"Then what the fuck do you know?!"  
  
"I DUNNO!"  
  
The two fell silent as they entered the school. Almost immediately upon entering, there were two tall men standing at each side of the indoors side of the entrance. They were standing at attention with their hands below their waists with one hand in a fist and the other clenched around the opposite wrist. They looked stone chizzled, crew cut hair, black sunglasses, black dress suits with white undershirts, and black shoes. They had something in one of their ears which had a coiled cord that went down into their suit jackets.  
  
Trunks looked over at Tai with a look of disgust and disbelief, "Are those guys the Board of Health?"  
  
"Two of 'em. There's like fifty of them all over the place."  
  
Trunks looked rather puzzled and looked around. Sure enough, there were at least three more down the hall, and that was a mere part of the school. Those three seemed to be stationary as well, but were more interested in the children. Trunks watched as their heads tracked each individual child that passed them, making the kids passing them feel very uncomfortable. Trunks knew something was wrong. These guys weren't the Board of Health.  
  
* * *  
  
One by one, children were called to the office. Two kids that Trunks knew hadn't come back, even though others ahead of them had. Trunks hadn't gone yet. They were probably doing it in some sort of random order, otherwise he would have been one of the first to go if it were alphabetical. Their teacher pretended that nothing was happening. She was trying to teach them about insects. Trunks wasn't paying a bit of attention. Neither were any of the other kids. They were too caught up in what was going on around them. This seemed too be too much for a single case of food poisoning. Something else was at hand here. The children chattered amongst themselves as the teacher lectured. They talked about who they thought those men really were, where the two children were that didn't come back, and what this was really all about. Ami couldn't just have had food poisoning, could she?  
  
Rumors were spreading like wildfire. One kid said that the men were looking all through the cafeteria very thoroughly, looking through the stoves, dish washers, storage rooms, and empty boxes. Another said that they had taken apart some of the ceiling tiles in the hallways and were looking up there for something. Another said that there were even a few men in the bathrooms with flash lights, looking in all of the corners and vents for something. One child who helps out as an office aid even said she over heard a conversation with one of the men and the principal, asking him if any of the children had weird marks on their faces.  
  
"Class, this wasp, found in the deserts of North America, plants its eggs inside other insects. When the egg hatches, the host is killed and...", she was cut off when one of the men appeared in the door way to the classroom. He looked down at a card in his had.  
  
"Trunks Briefs."  
  
* * *  
  
Trunks found himself in front of a small room that was hardly ever used by anyone. He always thought it was a storage closet, but he soon fond out he was wrong. His usher opened the door for him and let him go in first. Upon entering the room, the man followed him in and closed the door behind him. Inside, there were two men sitting on foldable steel chairs at a square brown table across from him. Just as he thought, the room was small. It made him feel claustrophobic. The were no windows, paint on the walls, or anything to lighten the mood. The walls were plain concrete and only one overhead lamp lit the room. The four of them could barely fit in there.  
  
"Please, have a seat," the man on his left said.  
  
Trunks took a seat in the empty seat to his left. His heart was racing and he was a bit scared that they were going to ask him about him and Goten making all of those prank phone calls. As he sat down, the man on the right side of the table got up with a pen in his hand and made his way around the table.   
  
The man knelt down beside Trunks. "What I need to do is check under you hair for a type of rash that is associated with the form of food poisoning we're looking for. Is it okay if I check?"  
  
Trunks didn't know if he could refuse. It sounded simple enough. Besides, if he tried anything, he could easily stop him. "Yeah, sure."  
  
The man began to lift Trunks' hair up with his pen. "What we are looking for are marks on the side of you head that look somewhat like long bruises." He continued checking. When he was done on that side, he asked Trunks to turn around and he repeated the process on the other side. When he was done, he looked over at the man behind the table and slowly shook his head. The man responded by writing something in an open folder. The man next to Trunks turned back to him. "You don't seem to have any rashes, but to make sure, I'm going to ask you a few questions."  
  
"Sure", Trunks answered. He was surprised that they were this friendly to him. He thought for sure they would be monotone and demanding and that they would keep referring to him as "Mr. Briefs." He felt a little bit better this way, allot less antsy.  
  
"Have you had a sore throat within the past few days?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Any long periods of nausea?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Dizziness?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Any abnormally long periods of sleep?"  
  
Again, no.  
  
"Memory loss?"  
  
"None."  
  
The man behind the table began writing again. The man next to him spoke again. "Do you know anybody who might exhibit these symptoms?"  
  
"Naw."  
  
"If you know anybody who does, or if you fall under these symptoms, please come back and let us know."  
  
"Why? Am I done?"  
  
"Yes, you can go back to class now."  
  
Trunks hopped of his chair and walked toward the door as the man that lead him in opened it for him. There was something he was itching to ask them. He better do it now while he had the chance.  
  
"Hey, uh, my friend is the one that got poisoned. Do you know if she's gonna be ok?"  
  
The room fell silent for a moment. It seemed like none of them knew what to say. The man that had been speaking to Trunks the whole time finally said something, "I wish I could tell you, but I really don't know. Do you know what hospital she's at?"  
  
"No. Ah well. Thanx anyway," he said disappointingly. He turned around and left. When he was out, the man was still holding the door open, looking at the man behind the table.  
  
"Who's next?" he asked.  
  
"Uh," the man went through a few papers in his folder. "Mike Brown, room "N" right now."  
  
The man nodded his head and left the room, closing the door behind him. He saw that Trunks was still there. "You're done. You can go back to class now."  
  
"Alright," Trunks said and turned toward the direction of class. The man went the opposite way. When the man disappeared around the corner, Trunks looked around to see if anyone was near. No one. He was going to see what he could find out from a little ease dropping. Something wasn't right here, and he wanted to know what it was. He went back to the door and put his ear up against it. He could barely hear the muffled voice on the other side of the door, but he could understand them.  
  
"I don't like screening kids."  
  
"We have to if there's an infestation."  
  
"But still, couldn't we start somewhere else? It doesn't feel right to be here."  
  
"If this island is infested, wouldn't you feel a little bit better to make sure the children are safe before you move on to adults? Three of them are already dead, and we found twenty more infected because the higher-ups didn't pick up on this soon enough. And we're not even done have of the student roster yet. They probably already have a nest somewhere at this rate. As soon as the task force finds it and isolates it, we should be done here."  
  
"Yeah. You're right. But my point is, ya know the shit's really hit the fan when we're finding infections in a school. It shouldn't have gotten this far."  
  
Trunks heard foot steps. He looked around, then he looked up.  
  
The man from before returned with another kid. He opened the door. The kid didn't look too healthy. He seem out of it, disorient, and looked like he was about to vomit. This child did have weird marks on his face, though. They looked like several long, parallel bruises up and down the side of his head. When they entered the room and closed the door behind them, Trunks jumped down from a vent in the ceiling. This was getting to him now. He started walking back to his class with a weird feeling. The he stopped dead. "Three kids dead? Twenty infected. Fuck this." He made plans to leave, but remembered that the doors were guarded. He'd have to jump out a window. 


	9. Momento

Chapter 9 - Momento  
  
Vegeta was looking out in front of him at the waves. The gentle sound of the ocean was one of the few things that actually calmed him. The sky was a brilliant mix of orange and purple as the sun went down behind him. He really loved this beach. For some reason he never saw another soul here, which comforted him. This was the closest thing he had to having a Fortress of Solitude.  
  
He was sitting outside his red tent, knees folded up into his arms, just letting his mind wander, trying to calm down before he went home. He shouldn't have lashed out like that at the card game. Now they are going to think of things he never wanted them to know about. Vegeta kept many deep dark secrets within himself that he never told anyone, not even Bulma. Those days were behind him, he just wanted to damn and forget them. They were of no relevance to him now.  
  
He was still a little wet from his swim. He spent almost the entire day in the water. It was probably the first real time he was in since he had almost drowned on Purge. It felt good for him to be back in it without having to struggle for air. That moment was the closest he had ever come to death (without dieing). He didn't want to have an experience like that ever again, but he also didn't want to have a fear of the water. He had been here several times since Purge, but never went in. He figured he'd get in now before any "problems" developed.  
  
He was starting to get hungry and figured he should get home before Bulma really started to worry. He was about to get up when he sensed someone approaching. Gohan no doubt. He figured out why he wanted to come to the card game. He was hoping a story about what happened to his father would leak out so he wouldn't have to ask Vegeta headfront. Well, he was now probably at wits end and summoned up the courage to talk to him. Vegeta didn't want to talk about Purge. There was no honor in what happened. He just survived an onslaught of ravaged beasts, barely, and let Goku get killed. Too many bad memories among the many he already had. Then again, the son of Goku had every right to know what happened to his father. He should have told him earlier as well Chi-Chi. Well, he was going to get the chance to now.  
  
As Gohan landed behind him, Vegeta continued to sit there, as if no one was there. Vegeta decided to speak up.  
  
"Are you here for the reason I think you're here?"  
  
"Depends."  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"...Is it true what my mom says? Did you kill him?"  
  
Vegeta shook his head, still not facing Gohan. "No."  
  
"...Is he even dead?"  
  
"...Yeah he's gone."  
  
"...Well what happened then?"  
  
Vegeta turned around to face him. He saw that Gohan was completely wet and that dark storm clouds were behind him, approaching fast.  
  
"Yeah, it wasn't fun getting here. I just wanna get this over with," Gohan said rather maturely.  
  
"Well that makes two of us."  
  
* * *  
  
They had been talking for nearly an hour inside the tent. The storm was raging outside, flapping the sides of the tent with strong wind and interrupting the conversation with loud cracks of thunder. Vegeta was just at the part of the story where Goku died.  
  
"A day or two later, we were in the kitchen. Your father seemed fine, but while he was cocooned, they must have planted some sort of embryo inside him. I went to the other room, and he began coughing violently. I went to check on him, but by the time I got there, he was convulsing and screaming. Before I knew what was going on, a newborn ripped through your father's chest. He died instantly." Vegeta wanted to be as vague as he could about Goku's death. Gohan didn't need to know every little detail about how Goku suffered. He tried to make it sound as quick and painless as he could.  
  
Gohan was silent. He didn't know what to say after hearing this. It sounded almost unbelievable, but Vegeta is no liar, and he knew that. He would never make up a story of him being literally ripped to shreds like he was to cover his own trail.  
  
The two fell silent for a while. Gohan was awe struck at what he just heard and Vegeta had nothing else to say. Then the thought that their might be more of these aliens entered Gohan's mind. "Were they indigenous to that planet?"  
  
"No," Vegeta said grimly. "I found a journal from the warden. It said that she had run into these things before, on another planet. The only clue I had was she briefly mentioned something about Freeza's men regrouping and releasing those things into the prison."  
  
"Did it say why they were after her?"  
  
"My only guess is that they are out to exterminate the remainder of the Sayian race."  
  
"Wait, the warden was a Sayian?! How do you know?"  
  
"The journal was written completely in Sayian manuscript."  
  
"If what you say is true, then we have to stop them before they track us back here."  
  
Just as Gohan said "here", a crack of lightning flashed behind him. At that moment, Vegeta saw an image, a familiar image, that stabbed him straight in the heart. The head, the hands, the tail. Dear God...  
  
All went dark again. Before Vegeta could react, the tent erupted and enveloped Gohan from behind him. The screeching of hands rubbing against the fabric enveloped Vegeta's ears. The tent completely collapsed and closed around him. He was struggling to get out, searching for an escape. He felt Gohan's legs kicking him from behind, and another, unknown body wrestling with him. Vegeta was starting to suffocate. He had to get out of there. He was constantly pushing red away from his face. He felt it get wet, but not the cool kind of wet from rain... it was a warm, thick wet. Every once in a while, a flash would light the tent up, but he could still see nothing. He got desperate. He faced away from Gohan and blasted his way out. He was met by a rush of cool air and rain. He ran a few steps away and turned around. The tent was still jumping and wrestling, but he couldn't make out what was going one. Was he seeing things before? A flash came and he looked down at his hands. They were completely red. He was pretty sure he wasn't cut, but in the scuffle, he wasn't sure. He wiped away liquid from his forehead as it was getting into his eyes. More red. Just then, the scuffle in the tent stopped, dead. No movement at all.  
  
"Gohan!". Nothing. He began to inch towards it. He looked down at the base of the tent and saw a large black puddle that was gradually getting larger. Then something slowly appeared from within the tent. Vegeta's heart began to race. He recognized it immediately. They followed him here. The lighting flashed as the demon gave Vegeta a crimson smile. 


	10. Natural Born Killers

Chapter 10 - Natural Born Killers  
  
Usually, the demon would have charged him by now, if he remembered correctly. However, it was as if it was letting Vegeta get grasp of the situation. He couldn't believe he was seeing this on earth. And the thing was just sitting there staring at him; it's wet skin shimmering in the night, occasionally lit by the strike of lightning. The tent next to the demon was still twitching. Gohan was still alive. He couldn't figure it out. It must have a reason for just staying put. He didn't know if he was waiting for him to attack and spring a trap or... Then it hit him. He was stalling for more of them to arrive!  
  
Vegeta launched a ki barrage at the demon, careful not to hit Gohan who was undoubtedly fatally hurt. The charges lit up the beach like a brilliant display of fireworks. The demon quickly jabbed to the left. Vegeta tried to follow it, but before he knew it, he was face to face with it. It lashed out its double jaw at him. He quickly ducked under, swung around to the left, aimed for the back of its neck with a spin kick, and fell off balance when he realized he only got air. He landed on 2 feet and one hand. He looked up and saw it standing 5 feet in front of him.  
  
"I don't remember these things being this fast." Vegeta thought to himself.  
  
It charged him. He snapped to the left, got to his feet, faced it, and launched a barrage of punches. He couldn't believe every single punch was missing. He jumped at it and attempted to snap a kick at it's jaw, but it swung over him. He was ruined now. After the swift dodge motion, the demon launched up and tackled him in mid-air. They landed and tumbled in the sand, with Vegeta eventually landing on his back, pinned down. Next thing he heard was a loud, high-pitched screech right in front of his face. He reacted, brought a hand to his face as fast as he could, and caught the creature's double jaw less than an inch from his face. This thing had to be much stronger than the ones he fought before. He couldn't get this thing to budge let alone get it's mouth away from his face. He had go get up soon. The rain was coming down so hard he was almost drowning and the demon's warm drool was covering him. He was trying to get his other arm free, but it was pinned down too. Lightning flashed, and he saw its tail making it's way to his head. In a last ditch effort, Vegeta jerk his head to the side, pulled the beast's double jaw in the other direction just as the tail came in contact. The demon severed it's own jaw. Vegeta slammed the piece he had in his hand into the demon's face. Acid blood spilled all over his upper right arm as it flew off.  
  
"AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH" Sheer pain shot through Vegeta. The heat, the melting, the cutting, the tingling, it was the worst feeling he ever felt in his life. The acid was still eating away at his skin and there seem like there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was going to melt straight through his arm. In a last ditch effort, he turned onto his belly, and shoved his arm into the deep sand, hoping that it might absorb some of the acid. It began to work, he could feel it stop digging in and start to recede. It wasn't exactly like pouring water on an open fire, but at least it was working. He looked over to his right and saw the demon trying to recover. He was hoping to put an end to it quickly now; he had to get Gohan to a hospital fast. His flame wasn't out, but it was dying quickly, Vegeta could feel it. He put his left hand on the ground, but as he tried to push up, his hand was caught on something. He couldn't pull it out of the sand. He also couldn't jerk it in fear that it might snap off. He looked over again, just in time to see the beast make it to its feet and charge him. Vegeta thought quickly and jab kicked it dead in the face as it came in. He then spun around and used his other foot to kick it away. It flew only a few feet away. He had to get his arm out of the sand now!  
  
He used both of his hands to make himself vertical, and blindly blasted into what ever was keeping him down. It let go, he pulled his hand out. His arm looked like a medium rare hamburger. Not as deep as he though, but it was serious. As he landed back on the ground, he thought he heard a familiar scream coming from underneath the sand.  
  
"SHIT!" He spun to the side, just as the sand exploded around him. He was covered in it now. He turned to face where the explosion was, and there, standing in its place, was another demon, missing an arm. It too, was covered in sand, but Vegeta could see it sliding off of its skin due to the hard pounding rain. It came at him, and Vegeta did a leg sweep to knock it down. He tried to get back up, but to his left was another sand explosion. It was enough to knock Vegeta back down. He was getting disoriented at this point. Vegeta landed on his back. As soon as the falling sand reveal another demon, he threw a shot right at its chin and severed it head. He heard more sand rustle from behind him. He jumped up to his feet, spun around with a right hook, nailed it dead in the face, and felt utter pain shoot through his arm again. He grabbed it and stuttered back a bit. He couldn't use it anymore, it was next to dead. He remembered the other 2 demons. He turned around and saw the one without a mouth coming at him from a short distance, and the one without an arm trying to get back up. He had no time to attack the downed one, he had to defend himself from the charging one. It lunged, and it seemed to try to slap him in the face with an outstretched arm. Vegeta ducked under it, kneed it in the ribs, swung around with his other leg and slammed it to the ground with a flash of lightning. He was nearly all legs now as he faced the armless one holding his own. It tried to scratch him, but he spin-kicked it in the wrist, jumped up, and kicked it in the throat. He felt something snap under his foot as he connected. They both landed together, him on his feet, it on its back. The demon began thrashing around, trying to make noises that came out as gurgles while it reached for its neck. Vegeta jumped back a bit, afraid of it spewing blood. He turned just in time to see the third demon jump at him. He had only one chance to get out of this. He arched his back as it landed on him, grabbed his arm with both hands, and tossed it into a curling wave. Pain once again rang through his arm, but it wasn't as bad as punching it before.  
  
The demon splashed straight into the curling wave, but as it did, directly left of where it went in, another demon splashed out of the wave as it came crashing down. It hit the beach running, straight for Vegeta. As it did, he heard 3 more sequential muffled sand explosions all around him. These were more demons than he had ever fought before, and there were probably more lying in wait in the ocean or in the sand. The answer became apparent to him quickly. He leapt up 20 feet into the air, charged a very heavy blast, and heaved it over his head, back down to the ground. It collided with the ground, a burst of sand went up, then several ripples ran out from the center, then a brilliantly bright explosion rang out. Vegeta shielded his eyes as he hovered in mid air for a moment. He still couldn't sense them, but he was sure he got them all with that blast.  
  
He felt something slam into his back. He, and what ever was on his back, fell to the earth, and rolled in the sand. Vegeta there caught a glimpse of his attacker, a demon with no double jaw. How could it jump that high? He had no time to think about it, he was in trouble. The demon was in control of the tumble, and jumped off before Vegeta could swing it over on its back. He rolled a few more rotations until he stopped. Lighting flashed again as he saw the demon coming at him again. Instead of getting up, he continued to lie there, in complete and utter pain. The demon jumped into the air. As it came down on him, he tucked his legs back, and as it came in, he launched it back into the air. Vegeta kicked up to his feet, and threw a left-handed ki blast like a baseball right at its chest. It collided with it in mid-air, and exploded into pieces.  
  
Vegeta spun around. Nothing. He turned around again. Nothing. There were no more. Holding his arm, he went over to Gohan. He was still wrapped up in the tent.  
  
"Come on kiddo. We gotta get outta here, now!"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Vegeta knew what was going on, he just didn't want to admit it to himself.  
  
"Gohan, we gotta go. Come on!". He began unwrapping him from the tent. Thick, red blood was everywhere, in the sand, in the tent, now all over Vegeta. When he got him out, Gohan was on his side facing away from Vegeta.  
  
He flipped him over. "Come on..." The cold, blank stare in his eyes said everything. Gohan was dead. His throat had been bitten and nearly ripped out. Several arteries were exposed, and his throat pipe was completely severed. Slashes were all over his chest. He was soaked in his own blood. His clothes, his hair, his face... it was still running from his mouth. Vegeta put his hand over his face and closed his eyes. He couldn't stand that look. Lightning flashed. The blood was still warm. A death like this wouldn't have killed him instantly. That explains why he still felt his flame and saw him struggling. He suffered quiet a bit too. He probably drowned in his own blood.  
  
What was Vegeta going to do? The demons had made it to earth in unknown numbers, and the son of Kakarrot was dead. 


	11. Outbreak!

Chapter 11 - Outbreak  
  
"Please don't give me this shit now Chich. I'm more worried about Trunks."  
  
"I'm just saying your husband shouldn't be doing stuff like this to you."  
  
Bulma just turned around and gave her a look. They both knew Vegeta ran off to be by himself periodically, they both knew Bulma didn't mind, and they both knew Chi-Chi was bringing this up only to put Vegeta down. The three girls we're supposed to be getting together at the Breif's mansion, Chi-Chi, Bulma, and 18, but 18 hadn't shown up yet. Worse, though, was how Trunks had not come home yet from school. Bulma was waiting patiently by the rainy window for her son. It was now dark out and there was that killer out there. Not only that, but the storm had grown to violent proportions. Her parents were upstairs, doing whatever. They were good about leaving her and her friends alone. Goten was in the other room playing videogames, also waiting for Trunks.  
  
"If here's not here in 10 minutes, I'm going out looking for him."  
  
"He's probably fine. Probably went to a friends house and didn't tell you again."  
  
Bulma began to walk away from the window. "Yeah, that's what I'm thinking." She sat down at the table with Chi-Chi. "I'd feel a bit better if that Jack The Ripper wannabe wasn't out there...Or this storm."  
  
"Bulma, we are talking about a half-sayian here! He'll be fine. But we should go look for him if he doesn't come home soon."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. But his ass is grass if he doesn't have a good reason for not coming home."  
  
* * *  
  
Gotten was upstairs in Trunks' room, playing videogames and listening to A Flock of Seagulls. Things were boring without Trunks around. He thought he knew he was coming over today.  
  
He quickly got board with the fighting game he was playing and turned it off. He jumped on his , laid on his back, and put his hands behind his head.  
  
"Aghhh, me so board." He began thinking about where Trunks was in this storm. Maybe he ran off with that girl he was telling him about. If he did, he didn't want to have the faintest clue what the were doing.  
  
The music began to annoy him. He reached his arm over to the nightstand, grabbed the stereo remote, killed the power, and lightly tossed it behind him. Usually boredom induced a laziness in him. He didn't feel like doing anything right now. He just lied there, on his back, in the dimly lit room, with his eyes following the ceiling fan around in circles. Every once in a while, lightning would flash and crack loudly, but it didn't even phase him. He was feeling so lazy right now, he didn't even feel like thinking. He was just finding amusement in the turning fan.  
  
After he followed it long enough to make him queasy, he shook his head as the high pitched "yada-yada-yada" sound effect played in it. Then his attentions was diverted. He thought he heard something in the closet. Like a scurrying or something.  
  
"Eh." He didn't care. Probably a mouse or something. His eyes began to feel dry and heavy, so he began to fall asleep. The pitter patter of the rain fall outside helped him doze off a bit. It was a relaxing sound that almost immediately put him out. He didn't dream. It was more like one of those day-time naps where you just black out for a while and loose track of time completely. However, he didn't come out of it rested, but rather annoyed. That scurrying noise from the closet was back and now wouldn't stop. He tried to tune it out by concentrating on the rain sound because he really didn't want to get up, but he couldn't. He was trying to ignore it like a phone call that comes at 5 am when you're fast asleep. However, this phone wouldn't stop ringing. He really didn't want to get up, he was too comfortable; but then again, he couldn't get back to sleep with that noise.  
  
Right then and there, he made the hardest decision of his life...  
  
He got up.  
  
His attitude was just to get the noise to stop as soon as possible, but immediately upon getting up, he got dizzy. He stood up too fast. He sat back down at the edge of the bed as tunnel vision came over him. He yawned as he leaned back on his hands, waiting for the spell to pass. This only made things worse. Now he just wanted to flop back into the bed more than ever, but no, he couldn't coz the mouse wouldn't shut up. As the feeling passed, he got back up to his feet and made his way to the closet door. When he grabbed the handle, a weird feeling came over him. A mouse, in this mansion? It was possible, but unlikely because of how tidy Trunks' grandparents make him keep the place. He began to feel a bit of tension. What else could make these kinds of noises? A bug perhaps? His hear began to pound a bit faster as he decided that there was only one way to find out.  
  
He put his hand on the handle and pulled the sliding door aside.  
  
"EEK!" He jumped back as a small mouse scurried out from the closet and out of the open door, into the hall. He couldn't believe it! A mouse in this place? Man was he gonna bug Trunks about this. There was a mouse in his room! in his excitement, he began to feel something wet on his shoulder. He thought to himself "HA! Now he has a leaky roof!" as he looked up.  
  
* * *  
  
Bulma had had it "That's it, I'm going after him."  
  
"Yeah, I'm starting to get worried myself." Chi-Chi told her.  
  
"Can you go get our coats while I get the car keys?"  
  
"What about Goten?"  
  
"He'll be fine, my parents are home."  
  
Right then the both heard a short scream from upstairs that sounded like a little boy. The girls both looked at each other with a questioning stare.  
  
"What is that boy screaming about now?" Chi-Chi asked.  
  
"I dunno, but I gotta go up stairs anyway ta tell my parents what's going on."  
  
"I'll come with you."  
  
They made their way up the two flights of stairs to Trunks' room. As they did. They heard something that sounded like wrestling. Loud footsteps, hard sounds of stuff pounding on the ground. Trunks had to be back and was play-fighting with Goten. The she really got mad when she heard glass break and all fall silent as they stood outside the door. "Trunks you little son of a bitch," she thought to herself. The door was open a crack. Chi-Chi was closest and slowly pushed it open. Something was immediately wrong.  
  
The room was trashed. Bed sheets were everywhere, there were scratches along the wall, the TV was face down on the floor, the lamp was on its side, and the window was broken. A weird feeling came over Bulma. The kids were never this rough. And where were they? Just as that thought passed her mind, both girls noticed an out reaching arm out side the window, a child's hand, a blue sleeve, reaching for help, while enveloped in some black blur. Then, it fell out of sight. It was unmistakably Goten.  
  
"GOTEN!!!" Chi-Chi screamed as she rushed to the broken window. Bulma was quick behind her. As she looked out, the was nothing but her lawn. No one outside, no signs of struggle, nothing. Just rain. Chi-Chi bursted backwards and ran as fast as she could out of the room. Bulma, once again was not far behind her, but on her way out, she noticed the small blood splatters up against the closet.  
  
"Oh no..." She said out loud as she ran out, following Chi-Chi. The two didn't even seem to run down the stairs, but hopped as they both tried to get out front as fast as they could. When they got to the front door, Chi-Chi slammed into it as she tried furiously to get it open. As she did, both girls bursted outside screaming her son's name at the top of their lungs.  
  
"GOOOOOOTEEEEENNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!" "GOOOOOOTEEEEENNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!"  
  
This continued for a few minutes as the girls ran around furiously, looking for Chi-Chi's son, and becoming drenched as the did so. Chi-Chi continued screaming as Bulma looked around. There was no sign of anywhere he might have went. She wiped the water from her eyes and looked around again, Chi-Chi still screaming behind her. He just disappeared into thin air.  
  
Chi-Chi was crying and screaming at this point.  
  
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN"  
  
"I don't see anywhere they could have went!"  
  
"IT WAS THAT KILLER!!"  
  
Bulma's first though was that she was probably right. However...  
  
"Chich! If it was, there'd be Goten and a dead man here."  
  
"THEN WHO TOOK HIM!!??"  
  
Bulma didn't know what to say. If someone had taken Goten, they'd have to be incredibly strong to take on a Sayian, especially to shed his blood. She looked over to Chi-Chi who had fallen to her knees. There was only one thing left they could do. Bulma ran over to Chi-Chi and began to pick her up by her arm.  
  
"Come on, we gotta call the cops."  
  
Chi-Chi fought her ,"NOOOO!!"  
  
Bulma then grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her a bit, the rain covering both of their faces. "WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE! WE CAN'T FIND HIM! HE'S SOMWHERE ELSE! WE GOTTA CALL THE COPS! COME ON!" Bulma then grabbed her by the hand and led her back inside, running. They didn't even bother to close the door, they just ran straight into the kitchen. Bulma let her go, picked up the cordless phone from the wall and began to dial. Chi-Chi was on the other side of the small circular kitchen table with her arms crossed, tears running down her already soaked face. The phone began to ring and Bulma couldn't help but take in what just happened.  
  
"As soon as I'm off the phone with them, I'll call the boys," meaning Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, and Krillin. "They'll be able to find him in no time since they can sense where he is."  
  
Chi-Chi was still silent and pacing back and forth. Bulma came up to her and put her arm on her shoulder. "It'll be ok, they find him." Chi-Chi just sniffled and nodded her head.  
  
"911 emergency."  
  
"Hi, my friend's son has just been kidnapped."  
  
"Where did the kidnapping take place?"  
  
"At my house, the Breifs' Mansion."  
  
"And what was the name of the kidnapped?"  
  
"Goten." She looked back at Chi-Chi. She was amazed that she was holding herself together this well. She turned her back too her and faced the window. The rain was still coming down hard, but maybe she would see something through it all. It was unlikely, but it didn't hurt.  
  
"When was the last time you saw Goten?"  
  
"As the kidnapper was dragging him out of my window."  
  
The storm continued to rage on outside with no sign of stopping.  
  
"Are his parents available?"  
  
"Yes, his mother's right here."  
  
"May I please speak with her?"  
  
"Yeah, sure... Chich, they wanna talk to you."  
  
Chi-Chi didn't answer. She was probably still unable to speak. Bulma turned to give her the phone herself. When Bulma faced her, she had a look of absolute shock on her face and was trembling as she slowly stepped backwards. Bulma rushed over to her.  
  
"What's wrong." Chi-Chi just nodded ahead of her. Bulma quickly looked in that direction.  
  
"Oh my God..." Bulma had never taken the Lords name in vein before in her life. She could hear the voice over the phone still talking to her.  
  
"Ma'am. Ma'am are you still there?"  
  
Bulma slowly raised the phone back up to her ear. Short of breath and trembling she answered, "Yeah... I'm still he... here."  
  
"What's happening ma'am?" A true sense of urgency was heard in her voice.  
  
"There... there's a monster standing in front of us." She couldn't control her breathing. Every breath she took was a short gulp of air.  
  
"Excuse me ma'am?"  
  
"There is a large black monster staring at us from the other side of the room." She said in a slow, distinctive voice.  
  
"There is a large black monster in the room with you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Bulma then heard a faint voice from the other end of the line.  
  
"You're caller's seeing a monster too?"  
  
The operator answered, "What do you mean too?"  
  
"My caller is reporting monsters too."  
  
"Are you serious?... Ma'am, are you still there...? Ma'am?"  
  
"It's moving towards us now." Both Bulma's and Chi-Chi's breathing became very loud.  
  
"Ma'am, there are several people here reporting monsters. I believe you. I'm sending a squad car right over."  
  
"Please hurry!" At that moment, the monster sprang at the two. Bulma dropped the phone and jumped towards Chi-Chi and pulled her out of the way. As she did, the monster went over them and into a cabinet, smashing it to bits and spilling pots and pans everywhere. The girls looked over at the wreck. The monster was phased, but getting back to its feet fast. The two got back up and began to run for the front door, almost immediately, they heard banging and clanging of steel furiously behind them. They ran into the living room and threw the door shut behind them. They didn't get two steps before the monster smashed through it, sending splinters and shards of wood everywhere. The were still 2 rooms away from the front door. They had to hurry. They continued to run, throwing everything they could down behind them to slow it down. Nothing seemed to work. Chi-Chi quickly looked behind her in time to see the monster jump again. She did the same thing Bulma did for her and pulled her to safety. The both landed with a thud on the hard wood floor and looked back to see the monster land, slide a bit on the floor, regain traction, and head back towards them. The two got back up. Now the monster was between them and the front door. They had to get around it. Bulma grabbed a lamp and tossed it at it as she ran. It smashed against its face, yet didn't have the slightest effect on it. There was a fire place next to them. Bulma quickly picked up a steel poking rod and Chi-Chi a steel coal shovel. They ran around behind a glass table with a wooden frame and managed to get it between themselves and the monster. The monster slowed down and stopped at the other end. The girls were waiting for it to make its move. It didn't wait long. It jumped up on the table towards them. Bulma smashed the glass with the rod and the monster fell through, briefly getting tangled up in the frame work. This was their chance. They ran straight for the front door. Breathing heavily, they rounded the corner where the door was. Chi-Chi immediately screamed in terror and fell to her behind. Bulma looked over to see another monster charging at them on all fours from the other side of the house. They would never make it to the front door in time, and couldn't go back. Bulma pulled Chi-Chi up as she looked both ways for an escape route. The only way out was up the stairs, the worst place to go, but it was their only option. Just as they were about to run, the window beside the charging monster shattered inward, and a body flew through, striking the monster, and sending it into another room out of sight. Before they could make out who it was, the person yelled in a familiar, female voice "GET DOWN!". The girls hit the deck as a large burst of light came from the person, and passed right above them. They looked behind themselves to see it collide with the monster that was directly behind them, and it burst into chunks of light, green blood, and black flesh. Some of the blood fell on Bulma's pants. They immediately started to his as a feeling of intense heat came over her leg. The person came over and immediately ripped her pant leg off before the blood ate through, and tossed it aside. The girls finally caught a glimpse of their rescuer. It was 18.  
  
"What was that thing!?" Bulma yelled.  
  
"I dunno, but they're invading the city," 18 answered, almost out of breath. Bulma took her first good look at 18. She was soaking wet, her clothes were torn, she had a shirt sleeve tied around her arm that was soaked in dark red, and her face had been slightly cut, She had been fighting these things, that's why she was late.  
  
"Well, we gotta get my parents and get out of here," Bulma told her.  
  
"Alright, lets just..." her voice trailed off as her focus turned over Bulma's shoulder. Bulma looked behind her and saw 2 more monsters running on all fours straight for them through the room.  
  
"GO!" 18 yelled as she pushed the girls away, toward the front door. The 2 girls ran outside.  
  
"Bring it you eyeless freaks," 18 said just as they came with in striking distance.  
  
As one leaped, she jumped at it and jabbed a kick straight into it's face. She used the momentum to swing her other foot around and crack the other directly in the sternum. She landed on her feet and rushed up to the one she just kicked. She picked it up by its collar, swung it around, and let it go, smashing it through a wall. As she turned to face the other, it was already up and ready to attack. She was too close to use a ki attack, so she swung with her left fist. It ducked under, wrapped its tail around her ankles, and yanked her off of her feet. It jumped on top of her, but she immediately kicked up with her legs and sent it flying into the air. She flipped up to her feet and ran after it. As it collided with the wall, she rammed her left elbow into its stomach. Keeping it pinned against the wall with her arm, she began ramming her free fist into it repeatedly. After several strikes, she ripped it to the ground, jumped back, and made it explode. She then saw the other come right for her. In one swift motion, she grabbed another steel rod from the fire place and threw it at it like a boomerang. The rod collided with its neck and severed its head. She was about to run back out as 2 more came at her from the left.  
  
* * *  
  
As the girls got outside, three military style trucks pulled up at the mouth of Bulma's drive way. The girls began to run towards them as several well equipped soldiers poured out. Bulma's first thought were how the military just showed up at her door step when Japan doesn't have an army.  
  
"Help us please!" Chi-Chi yelled as they came closer.  
  
A few soldiers immediately too notice of them and raised the rifles to their shoulders, ready to shoot.  
  
"GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!!!" One of them ordered in heavily accented Japanese.  
  
The girls first reaction was to slow down and put their hands in the air. What was going on? They didn't do anything wrong.  
  
The soldier yelled again, "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW!!!" he repeated again in the same language.  
  
Bulma answered in Japanese, "Look our friend is being attacked by monsters in there and she needs help."  
  
The soldier wasn't listening. "Put your hands behind your heads and face the ground!"  
  
The girls had no choice but to comply. They slowly put their hands behind their heads and got down to their knees.  
  
Chi-Chi spoke up as two soldier ran up to the, the other few staying behind with their guns squarely locked on them, "Look, her parents are still in there with those things. You gotta do something!" They didn't answer.  
  
As they got up to them, several bolts of light came up from behind the girls, colliding with the pavement at the soldiers' feet. Almost immediately, 18 rushed out of the house, flying. She swooped by the girls, picked them up by their wrists, and flew to the top of the house. As they were picked up, Bulma heard one of the nearby soldiers mutter "What the hell?". 18 dropped both girls off at the roof, and with out saying a word, dove over the side. Immediately, the sound of a smashing window was heard.  
  
The girls went over to the side of the roof and peered over the edge where the soldiers were in disarray, and speaking in perfect, American English.  
  
"What the hell was that!?"  
  
"Is everyone ok?"  
  
"Where did they go!?"  
  
"LOOK OUT!!"  
  
"OPEN FIRE!!!!"  
  
The sounds of gun fire immediately erupted. The girls weren't the ones being shot at, but rather the house. Then, several monsters appeared coming out of the house and toward the soldiers. They all were ripped apart by gunfire, and left smoking bodies on Bulma's front lawn. Bulma then felt a tapping on her shoulder. She looked over to see Chi-Chi fixated on the other side of the roof. Bulma looked over to see a monster climbing over the edge and heading towards the. The girls got up and ran in the opposite direction. They had to keep their footing in this rain, or they would fall over the edge. Bulma looked behind her to see the monster gaining on them at almost lightning speed. However, before the girls could reach the edge, they heard shattering glass again, and the sound of a fight. The looked over behind them just in time to see 18 toss the monster over the edge of the house. Before the could see it land on the ground below, 18 Ran up to them.  
  
"Get on my back!" She told Chi-Chi. She did, and 18 grabbed Bulma around the waist as she took off. 


	12. Reservoir Dogs

Chapter 12 – Reservoir Dogs  
  
About twenty minutes before the attack on the Briefs' mansion, a man in a lab coat was running through the busy hallways, out of breath. He had to make his way through all of the men in battle ready uniforms, holding M-16 rifles, with large belts and backpacks, all American, like him. They were miscellaneously scattered all throughout the hallway with the soul purpose, it seemed, to be in his way.  
  
"Excuse me... Excuse me... Pardon me... I'm sorry," he said as he ducked between each soldier. The words were just coming out of his mouth from instinct. He didn't even realize he was saying them. He was more focused on reaching his destination.  
  
He was playing the role of a messenger. The news he had to deliver was bad, very bad. The kind of bad that seems unreal, as if you were dreaming. The kind of bad that made him just want to go home and be held by his wife back in Nebraska. The kind of bad that made him think he may never see her again.  
  
Sweat was pouring from his brow. He had been running at full speed for the better part of the last five minutes. He had to make it from his work desk, all the way at the other end of the camp to the general's main office who was nicely seated at the other. He tried calling, but his secretary said he was in an important meeting. His heart was racing as well, but it was more from the bad news he must deliver rather than his over exertion.  
  
The bad news came to him just seconds before he started running. Just ten minutes ago, he was sitting nicely in his lab, enjoying a Boston Cream donut and rich black coffee, lazily monitoring the underground movement on the scanners, and keeping an eye on the local news broadcast. The movement was at a slightly higher level than usual, but nothing to fret about, the local patrols could handle them, and the news was just covering the stock report. A colleague of his was behind, enjoying locally made sushi, making jokes with him. The colleague got up to make a quick restroom break when he heard the familiar "Breaking News" music, and turned to the screen. Luckily, he knew Japanese.  
  
"Breaking News just received here at the desk, police are reporting a mass killing on the east side of the city. News Chopper 10 is live at the location with the details."  
  
"We are live at Dioa Boulevard were the police are investigating the killing of four pedestrians in what seems to be a brutal animal mauling, much in the same style as the at large serial killer."  
  
On screen were several emergency response vehicles, lights blazing, several cops and paramedics, four figures covered by sheets, large shiny pools under them, and yellow tape that sectioned off the scene.  
  
"All we know right now is that there were four victims. The police are not releasing the names at this time..."  
  
The man's heart skipped a beat. He stopped breathing. What was now showing on the screen was everything he had feared would happen.  
  
"Wait... the police have drawn there guns. We cannot see what they are point their guns at because our view is obstructed. They seem to be were cautions and... what is that... OH NO!"  
  
Thousands of people just saw three cops be brutally butchered on live television, as well as the big secret that he was here to protect. The news broadcast cut back to the desk were the anchors, absolutely horrified, made comments and assurances about what was just seen.  
  
"Dave!"  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Get out here now and bring up the 911 channel!"  
  
The sound of a flushing toilet was followed by the colleague coming out of the restroom, pulling up his pants zipper. "Why what's going on?"  
  
"Just do it while I try and reach Hammond!"  
  
As the colleague went back to his desk, hearing the news broadcast, he picked up on what was going on.  
  
"Oh shit."  
  
"Yeah well tell him that I have to speak to him now!...."  
  
The colleague brought up the audio and visual link to the 911 station on his desk. It was the busiest he had ever seen the place. He over heard questions of confirmation on monster sightings and calming reassurances from other dispatchers who were talking to hysterical murder witnesses.  
  
"Aw no..."  
  
"I DON'T CARE IF HE SAID NOT TO BE DISTURBED!... FUCK IT!" He tossed the phone aside and began running.  
  
The secretary confronted him at the general's door, but he didn't even hear a word she said. He pushed her out of the way and burst through the double doors. Inside were several men in suits, with the general sitting at the head of the table. The general look shock at first, then infuriated. The general stood up, but before he could say a word, the man spoke up, out of breath, exhausted, but calmly.  
  
"The xenomorph are leaving the nest. They're attacking the public in full force."  
  
The general looked horrified and sat back down. He looked at the suits, and spoke directly to his secretary who was standing in the door.  
  
"Start the evacuation and quarantine the island and citizens immediately." 


End file.
